At least 20 people have died in rain-related incidents in Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka over the last few days, PTI reported on Thursday.
Eight of the deaths were reported from Kerala and three from Tamil Nadu. Nine people died in Karnataka – six people in Belagavi, two in the Uttara Kannada district and one in Shivamogga.
Over 2,000 people were shifted to relief camps in Kerala and Tamil Nadu on Thursday, officials said. In Karnataka, rescue teams have evacuated 43,858 people from affected districts. As many as 40,180 people have been evacuated from Belagavi district.
“The flood situation is under control,” an official statement from the Karnataka administration said. Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa has camped in Belagavi, PTI reported. He visited rain-affected Shivajinagar and Gandhinagar areas in the district on Thursday. The district administration has declared a holiday for schools and colleges till August 10.
Yediyurappa asked people to donate at least Rs 5,000 crore to flood relief and rehabilitation. “I appeal to donors with folded hands that we are in a peculiar situation,” the chief minister told reporters in Belagavi. He said 30,000 houses also need to be built.
“You too came with me to the rehabilitation centres,” Yediyurappa told reporters. “Show me one person who pointed finger at the relief work. We will provide boats, helicopters and...those required for rehabilitation work. I will not leave this place until I make proper arrangements.”
In Kerala, a red alert has been sounded in Idukki, Malappuram, Kozhikode and Wayanad districts. Kannur, Wayanad, Idukki, Malappuram, Kozhikode and Kasaragod districts are facing floods. Army operations for rescue are underway in Wayanad and Coorg.
Several people are feared missing in Meppadi in Kerala’s Wayanad district following a landslide. MLA CK Saseendran told PTI that a temple, a church, some houses and vehicles were buried under the soil.
Operations were suspended at the Cochin International Airport till midnight as a temporary measure, according to ANI.
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