Heavy Rains Wreak Havoc: Kerala Worst Hit as Death Toll Climbs to 22

Thiruvananthapuram: Torrential rains continued to batter various parts of Kerala on Friday as the toll in monsoon-related incidents, including landslides, in the last three days mounted to 22 with over 22,000 people being shifted to relief centres, officials said. The state government has sought the help of the Army and Air Force.

Train services were also affected in some places as heavy rains triggered landslides while overflowing rivers caused flooding in several parts with the worst affected being hilly Wayanad, Malappuram, Kannur and Idukki in north and central Kerala.

Flight operations at the Kochi airport were suspended till Sunday due to inundation, bringing back memories of August last year when it was shut down for a fortnight following floods.

In Kochi, the Southern Naval Command said it was ready to open its airport for operation of small commercial flights if the CIAL airport remained shut for a longer period.

 A red alert for rainfall has been issued in nine of the 14 districts in the state and all educational institutions, including professional colleges, will remain closed till Saturday.

Chief Minister, Pinarayi Vijayan, who chaired a high-level meeting here on Friday morning to review the situation, told reporters that 22 people have died in rain-related incidents in the last three days.

Examinations of the Kerala Public Service Commission and various universities across the state, scheduled for Saturday, have been postponed, officials said.

Heavy Rains Claim 3 Lives in Odisha

 Bhubaneswar: Heavy and incessant rains in south and west Odisha earlier this week has claimed at least three lives, left two missing and hit over 1.3 lakh people in nine districts, an official said on Friday.

The damage caused by the rain was known after the rainwater receded from the submerged areas on Friday and the situation returned to normal, they said.

Met officials said the recent spell of downpour was triggered by a deep depression which has now weakened and moved out of Odisha.

However, a fresh bout of rainfall is likely to lash the state after three days due to a cyclonic circulation in the area, they said.

Preliminary reports said the pounding rains left one person dead in each of the districts of Koraput, Kandhamal and Kalahandi districts, an official said.

The highest number of 90,162 affected people are from 763 villages in Kalahandi district, followed by Rayagada where 14,645 people in 145 villages had been hit.

Karnataka: 4 of Family Killed in Landslide 

Madikeri: Four members of a family lost their lives and efforts were on to trace a fifth person after their house was hit by landslide at Korangaala village in Kodagu district of Karnataka on Friday, police said.

"Four bodies -- three men and one woman -- have been recovered from the spot, while efforts are on to trace a fifth member of the family", a police official said.

Life in Kodagu has come to a standstill following pounding rains in the past few days. Madikeri-Kushalnagar connectivity is blocked as the Cauvery river waters flooded the highway.

Almost all the major rivers in the state including Krishna, Cauvery, Kaali, Varahi, Markandeya, Bheema, Malaprabha, Ghataprabha, Tunga, Bhadrawati, Hemavati,

Sharavati, Netravati, Tungabhadra, Kumaradhara, Varada, Kabini and their tributories are in spate, leaving thousands of people in the lurch.

In addition to Belagavi, the districts affected include Bagalakote, Vijayapura, Raichur, Yadgir, Gadag, Uttara Kannada, Haveri, Hubballi-Dharwad, Ballari, Dakshina Kannada, Chikkamagaluru and Kodagu.

Tamil Nadu: IAF Requested to be on Standby in Nilgiris  

Chennai: With torrential rains lashing Nilgiris district in Tamil Nadu, leading to floods and landslides, the state government has requested the Indian Air Force to be on standby to carry out rescue efforts.

Chief Minister K Palaniswami said the incessant rains had resulted in flood and landslides, adding Avalanchi in the district recorded 911 mm rainfall on Thursday.

In a statement on Friday, the Chief Minister said a total of five persons have been killed in various rain-related incidents in the district and announced a relief of Rs 10 lakh each to their families.

Further, 1704 persons affected due to floods and landslides have been sheltered in 28 relief centres and were being provided with food, drinking water and other amenities, Palaniswami added.

Maharashtra: Chopper Pressed Into Service in Sangli 

Sangli/Mumbai: A helicopter is being deployed to drop relief material in the flood-ravaged areas of Sangli district in Maharashtra and it may also be used to evacuate stranded people, a senior official said on Friday.

Rescue measures are underway in rural as well as urban areas of the western Maharashtra district, he said.

"We have received one chopper and its trial landing has been successfully conducted. We are now starting sorties to drop relief material in the affected areas.

"The chopper may be used to evacuate people from the flood-hit areas," said Abhijit Choudhary, district collector of Sangli.

As of Thursday, over two lakh people have been evacuated to safer places due to the floods that have wreaked havoc in five districts of Western Maharashtra - Sangli, Pune, Kolhapur, Solapur and Satara, officials have said.

Among them, Sangli and Kolhapur are the worst-hit.

Uttarakhand: 2 Killed in Cloudburst, 2 Washed Away

Dehradun: A woman and her son were killed in a cloudburst in Tehri district, while two others were swept away after a flooded rivulet inundated their house in Uttarakhand's Chamoli district in the early hours of Friday, officials said.

 Heavy rains have wreaked havoc in the hills of Uttarakhand, washing away houses, cowsheds and bridges besides destroying crops.        

A cloudburst flattened a house in Tharti village of Tehri district at 3 am, killing a 30-year-old woman and her six-year-old son, sub-divisional magistrate Shiv Charan Dwivedi said.             

A woman and her seven-year-old daughter were swept away in Chamoli district early on Friday after a flooded rivulet inundated their home following heavy rain which also destroyed crops besides damaging 12 houses and cowsheds.  

Heavy showers also caused large-scale damage to crops in Faldia, Vaganmaira, Padmalla and Nailpatta villages, the official said.

Heavy rains also blocked Rishikesh-Badrinath National Highway.