Thiruvananthapuram/Kozhikode: The South-West Monsoon appears to have weakened across Kerala on Sunday with most of the flooded areas recording less rainfall. The development has helped speed up rescue and relief operations, according to government officials.
Meanwhile, the death toll due to rain related incidents, including the two major disasters at Puthumala in Wayanad and Kavalappara in Malappuram, have risen to 78.
Three more bodies were recovered from the landslide-struck Kavalappara on Sunday, taking the death toll to 12.
Rescue operations are in progress to trace those who were trapped under the debris in Wayanad's Meppadi, another village wiped out by landslide. According to officials, 7 people remain to be traced from the village.
About 2.61 lakh people from 75,636 families have been shifted to 1,639 relief camps in the state. "There is respite from the rains today in the hills. But we need to be cautious. It's not easy to escape from landslides," Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said. In Kerala, 2,966 houses have been partially damaged and 286 fully, official sources said.
Air passengers got a huge respite as flight operations resumed from the Cochin International Airport on Sunday after three days' shutdown.
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Red alert
Pinarayi held a meeting with senior officials on Sunday morning.
India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a red alert for rains for three districts - Kannur, Kasaragod and Wayand.
Vadakara in Kozhikode district recorded 21 cm of rainfall, the highest in the state as of 8:30am Sunday, followed by Kodungallur in Thrissur (19.9) and Perinthalmanna in Malappuram (13.8), the IMD said.
Pinarayi also said the water level in the major dams was not a cause of worry as of now. The Idukki Dam, one of the biggest in the state, presently had only 36.61 per cent of its capacity, he added.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi arrived on a two-day visit to Kerala this afternoon and visited his Lok Sabha constituency Wayanad.
The Southern Railway on Sunday fully cancelled 10 trains including the Mangaluru-Thiruvananthapuram Express, Maveli Express, Malabar Express, Kannur-Ernakulam Intercity Express, Ernakulam-Bengaluru Intercity express and four passengers.
Seven trains have been partially cancelled and two trains diverted, it announced.
Various agencies, including the Army, Navy, Coast Guard, NDRF, police force, volunteers and fishermen are involved in the rescue operations at various places.
This is the second consecutive year that the floods and landslides have ravaged Kerala which is yet to recover from the devastating deluge that claimed over 400 lives last year and had rendered lakhs homeless.