Appealing for donations from people across the country, Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan today said the road to recovery for the southern state is going to be a long one. "Your help no matter how small will be a step to restore normalcy," the chief minister exhorted. The death toll has now gone up to 324 and over 2 lakh people have been shifted to more than 1500 relief camps in what is turning out to be the worst flooding in 100 years.
While the defence personnel have been pressed into service to rescue those who are stranded atop rooftops and restore road connectivity, thousands are still marooned at inaccessible places without any help or food.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to arrive in Kerala tonight after attending the funeral of former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. He is likely to undertake an aerial survey of the worst-hit areas on Saturday to take a stock of the situation.
During this year's monsoon, various parts of Kerala have been affected by heavy rains, resulting in flood. A total of 13 districts which include Thrissur, Ernakulam, Idukki, Wayanad have been partly inundated. Those who've lost their homes have been shifted to relief camps.
Rescue operations are underway with coordination of Center, state government and local volunteers. NDRF teams, boats, choppers and other essential commodities are being rushed to the flood-hit areas. Helicopters are being used to drop essential commodities and airlift those who are in need.
The central government has also offered Naval runway at Kochi for civilians use. Kochi International Airport has been shut until August 26 after it got inundated due to incessant rains.
Here are the latest updates from Kerala:
10:10 pm: Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao has announced Rs 25 crore as immediate assistance towards Kerala Floods. The chief minister has instructed Chief Secretary SK Joshi to handover the amount to Kerala government. The CM has also instructed the officials concerned, that in view of water getting polluted due to floods, Reverse Osmosis water purifiers worth Rs 2.5 crores should also be dispatched to Kerala.
9:20 pm: The Delhi government is planning to make contribution of Rs 10 crore to the flood-hit Kerala. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal tweeted that he has spoken to Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan and appealed "everyone to donate generously for our brothers and sisters in Kerala".
8:50 pm: The Indian Navy has sent Fleet replenishment tanker INS Deepak from Mumbai to Kochi with 8 lakh litres of drinking water. INS Deepak is scheduled to reach Kochi on August 19.
6:40 pm: 13 of the 14 districts have been devastated by floods.
6:00 pm: In its latest weather bulletin, the Indian Meteorological Department has forecast some respite from rain in Kerala tomorrow. However, heavy rains the state will witness heavy rain over the next 24 hours.
5:45 pm: The CM Office said that so far 80 dams have been opened.
5:20 pm: Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh has announced relief assistance worth Rs 10 crore for Kerala. A sum of Rs 5 crore will be transferred to Kerala chief minister's disaster fund and the remaining amount will be used to send ready-to-eat food items.
4:30 pm: Supply of petrol and diesel in Kerala have been hit hard due to disruption of road and rail connectivity. Fuel pumps in the state are witnessing huge crowds.
1:00 pm: "In one of the worst rain and flood disasters to hit Kerala, 106 people lost their lives on a single day yesterday," a source in the Kerala State Disaster Management Authority told PTI.
12:35 pm: Local fishermen have also joined the rescue mission bringing in their boats to help in evacuation of the stranded people in various places in Aluva, Kalady, Perumbavoor, Muvattupuzha and Chalakudy.
12:20 pm: A weather report has predicted heavy rains accompanied by gusty winds in various parts of the state on Friday. Winds at the speed of 60 kmph is expected in Pathanamthitta, Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Alappuzha, Kottayam, Idukki, Ernakulam, Thrissur, Palakkad, Malappuram, Kozhikode and Wayanad districts, the report said.
12:05 pm: On instructions from the Prime Minister, the Defence Ministry has rushed in fresh teams of the three armed forces for relief and rescue operations in the state where over 1.5 lakh homeless and displaced people are taking shelter in relief camps.
11:45 am: Twelve additional teams of of the National Disaster Response Force comprising about 540 personnel have been rushed to Kerala.
11:30 am: The state government also decided to raise excise duty on Indian Made Foreign Liquor till November 30 to mop up additional resources for relief and rehabilitation efforts, official sources said.
11:00 am More than 23 IAF choppers, 11 planes, 330 boats are in operation. 10 army column, 43 NDRF teams and 10 army engineering teams are also involved in rescue operation.
The government has issued helpline numbers for the people of affected areas.
Chief minister's helpline number - 0471-2333812
State disaster relief authority numbers
Pathanamthitta - +918078808915 (Whatsapp) / 0468-2322515/2222515
Idukki - +919383463036 (Whatsapp) / 0486-233111/2233130
Kollam - +919447677800 (Whatsapp) / 0474-2794002
Alappuzha - +919495003640 (Whatsapp) / 0477-2238630
Idukki - +919383463036 (Whatsapp) / 0486-2233111
Kottayam - +919446562236 (Whatsapp) / 0481 - 2304800
Ernakulam - +917902200400 (Whatsapp) / 0484-2423513/2433481
District-level helpline numbers
Idukki : 0486 2233111, 9061566111, 9383463036
Ernakulam : 0484 2423513, 7902200300, 7902200400
Thrissur : 0487 2362424, 9447074424
Palakkad : 0491 2505309, 2505209, 2505566
Malappuram : 0483 2736320, 0483 2736326
Kozhikode : 0495 2371002
Kannur : 0497 2713266, 0497 2700645, 8547616034
Wayanad : 04936 204151,9207985027