Thiruvananthapuram: In the wake of heavy showers, a red alert has been issued across 11 districts in flood-hit Kerala for Saturday. Heavy rainfall has been predicted for the day in all districts except Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam and Kasaragod, said a statement issued by the Kerala Chief Minister's Office.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD), meanwhile, said that the intensity of rainfall has decreased now and there will not be extremely heavy rains anymore. Heavy showers will, however, continue to hit Kerala for the next two days.
"In August, till 16th actual rainfall was 619.5mm, normally it should have been 244.1 mm. The intensity of rainfall has decreased now there won't be extremely heavy rains anymore but heavy rains will continue for 2 days," said Dr S Devi, IMD.
As many as 324 people have lost their lives, thousands displaced or stranded as incessant rains pounded Kerala since the past few weeks, causing havoc in 12 districts.
Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi conducted an aerial survey of the flood-affected areas in Kerala to witness the massive loss and destruction triggered by the torrential rains. He announced an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh to the next kin of the deceased and Rs 50,000 to those seriously injured, from Prime Minister's National Relief Funds (PMNRF).
According to the control room of the Kerala state disaster management authority, 194 people have been killed and 36 missing in the floods since August 8.
Over 3.14 lakh people have been moved to relief camps and a tweet from Pinarayi Vijayan, the southern state's chief minister, said that the loss from the floods, as per initial estimates, was Rs 19,512 crore.
(With inputs from agencies)
