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The Kerala government on Sunday informed the National Crisis Management Committee (NCMC) that the situation in the flood-ravaged state was gradually improving, even as some rainfall was forecast for the coastal state from Monday onwards.
The information was shared in an NCMC review meeting -- the fourth consecutive meeting since August 16 -- which was attended by Secretaries of Defence, Health, Civil Aviation, Food Processing and Power Ministries, Chairman of Railway Board and senior officers of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), and National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA).
The NCMC meeting is held to coordinate rescue and relief operations in Kerala.
Meanwhile, with over 6.33 lakh people taking shelter in 3,000 relief camps, the government on Sunday directed the central ministries to focus on providing essential commodities and medicine and restoration of vital services in flood-hit Kerala. One of the worst ever floods, it has left about 370 people dead and caused unprecedented destruction.
The National Crisis Management Committee (NCMC) in its review meeting directed that focus should now be on provision of emergency supplies of food, water, medicines and restoration of essential services such as power, fuel, telecom and transport links as flood water recedes in Kerala, an official spokesperson said.
More than 15,000 people have been evacuated from floods and heavy rains affected areas of Kerala till now and rescue operations have been stepped up in a number of badly-affected locations, the NDRF said on Sunday.
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The federal disaster contingency force said a total of 58 teams, with about 30-35 personnel in each team, are "working in difficult conditions and terrain to deal with the worst flood in over a century" in the southern state.
"Though the condition is improving in some places as water has started receding, NDRF has scaled up its response in places which are still affected like Thiruvalla and Chengannur (Alappuzha), Aleva (Ernakulum) and parts of Idukki," a force spokesperson said.
Rainfall intensity over Kerala decreasing: IMD
The rainfall intensity over Kerala has decreased over the past two days, the meteorology department said on Sunday, adding that there is no alert of heavy precipitation for the next four days in the state.
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India Meteorological Department's Additional Director General Mritunjay Mohapatra said, yesterday the state recorded 9 cm of rainfall.
On August 16 and 17, the state recorded 19 cm and 11 cm of rainfall respectively, he said.
"Over the past three days, we have seen a gradual decrease in rainfall in the state," Mohapatra said.
The IMD said it is expecting "heavy rainfall" only in Kozhikode, Kannur and Idduki districts.
Kerala Floods Latest Updates:
10:06 pm: The crisis in Kerala cries out for large scale rail evacuation. Therefore Southern Railway requested PCOMs of all Zonal Railways for rake contributions to Southern Railway to facilitate this exodus. PCOM Central Railway D K Singh immediately responded to the call and a rake of 18 coaches is being urgently dispatched from Pune on Monday for evacuation of flood affected people in Kerala: Sunil Udasi CPRO Central Railway
09:18 pm: Ministry of Health and Family Welfare to airlift 60 tonnes of emergency medicines tomorrow. A special train with 14 lakh litres of water & Navy ship with 8 lakh litres of water to reach Kerala by tomorrow: Government of India
09:17 pm: Two special trains will run tomorrow to Kolkata from Trivandrum & Ernakulam. Train services expected to restore on all lines by tomorrow evening. Commercial flights will start operating from Kochi Naval Base from tomorrow: Government of India
09:10 pm: Director General of Police (DGP) OP Singh appeals to UP Police to voluntarily donate one day salary for Kerala flood victims
08:08 pm: The Dept of Food & Public Distribution has provided 50,000 million tonnes (MT) of food grains. The Dept of Consumer Affairs has made arrangements to airlift 100 metric tonnes of pulses by tomorrow with additional quantities to be sent by train: Government of India
08:07 pm: The Petroleum & Natural Gas Ministry has made available 9,300 kilolitres of kerosene to Kerala. Additional 12,000 kilolitres of kerosene will be allocated. LPG bottling plant in Kochi has been reopened: Government of India
06:00 pm: 244 Fire Service Personnel trained in rescue ops with 65 rescue boats&other equipment have been sent from Odisha to Kerala to help in rescue ops. Odisha CM directed Odisha Relief Commissioner to extend all help to people from the state stranded in Kerala
05:00 pm: It is expected that for the next 5 days there won't be heavy rainfall in Kerala, rainfall will gradually decrease over the state: Mrutyunjay Mohapatra, India Meteorological Department
03:47 pm: Today, total 288 boats available at air force station. Many river-rafting volunteers have been brought from Rishikesh.26 helicopters are in operation. One team of Task Force Commanders placed in Trivandrum & one in Kochi: Air Marshal B Suresh, Southern Air Command
03:45 pm: Home Minister of Telangana Naini Narshimha Reddy handed over a cheque of Rs 25 Crore to Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan earlier on Sunday. 50 RO machines worth Rs 2.5 Crore will be airlifted from Begumpet (Telangana) to Kerala shortly, to provide clean drinking water
2:42 pm: Indian Naval Ship Deepak disembarked rations and drinking water at Southern Navy Command earlier today in Kochi.
2:35 pm: West Bengal government to give Rs 10 crore for Kerala flood relief.
2:22 pm: JSW Group has said it has initiated a group-wide initiative wherein its employees voluntarily contribute in cash as well as in kind, TVS Motor Company has contributed Rs one crore to the Kerala Chief Minister's Distress Relief Fund (CMDRF).
2:17 pm: Community kitchen setup at Kochi naval base catering to nearly 7000 people affected due to floods.
2:09 pm: Indian Air Force air drops relief material to people in flood hit areas of Kochi.
1:52 pm: 58 of our NDRF teams are deployed across 8 districts of the state. They're carrying out rescue & evacuation work & extending medical emergency aids. Now that rain has subsided to some extent, our teams are being relocated partly to worst-affected areas: NDRF DG.
1:41 pm: A Joint team comprising representatives from DGCA, BCAS, CISF, AAI &Indian Navy carried out inspection of Cochin Naval Base today to check the feasibility of scheduled operations from there.Steps being taken to start operations with ATR-72 from 20th Aug, tweets Suresh Prabhu
1:37 pm: Scheduled domestic airlines have mounted additional flights to/from Trivandrum, Calicut & Coimbatore airports to minimize passenger inconvenience. Nine foreign carriers have also rescheduled their flights to/from Trivandrum, tweets Union civil aviation minister Suresh Prabhu
1:28 pm: National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) rescues a pregnant woman from Alappad village in Cherpu police station area.
1:23 pm: Road clearance work underway in Nelliyampathy hill station after multiple landslides damaged the roads
1:13 pm: Wing Commander Prasanth of Garud Special Force of Indian Air Force rescues a toddler from rooftop in flood hit town of Alappuzha.
12:21 pm: Government school in converted to a relief camp for Kerala Floods in Chengannur, total 115 people have taken shelter at the camp.
12:00 pm: Attorney General K K Venugopal donates Rs one crore towards relief work in flood-hit Kerala.
11:51 am: Veterinary Hospital converted to a relief shelter in Idukki district's Vandiperiyar, total 35 people are staying at the shelter.
11:47 am: President Kovind expressed satisfaction that the Union and state governments were working together and in synergy in rescue and relief operations in Kerala. He praised relief agencies such as NDRF and public officials at state and Central level for their response and commitment.
11:46 am: President Kovind spoke to the Governor and the Chief Minister of Kerala and inquired about the flood situation. He acknowledged the grit and resilience of the people of Kerala in coming together in this trying hour. Assured the people of the state that entire nation was with them.
11:12 am: The IAS Officers Association of Andhra Pradesh to contribute one day salary of its members for Kerala floods.
10:56 am: At 10 am today, the water level in the Idukki reservoir was 2402.28 ft; water flow into Periyar river is 913 cusecs per hour. Two shutters have been closed.
10:44 am: Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) has restored all its services to Kerala's Ernakulam, Kottayam, Thrissur, Palghat, Kozhikode, Kannur and Trivandrum. First service to start at 4 pm to Trivandrum from Bengaluru. Services to Kasaragod not restored.
10:37 am: RAF team recovered one body from Nemmara landslide area in Palakkad district early morning today.Dy Commandant RAF Coimbatore unit, says, "We have recovered total 10 bodies from the area. Landslides are still occurring in the area,it was a tough task to recover the bodies"
10:13 am: Red alert withdrawn for all districts of Kerala today. Orange alert issued for 10 districts, yellow alert for 2 districts.
10:00 am: As part of the efforts to extend a helping hand to flood-affected Kerala, the Central Railway has sent over 14 lakh litres of drinking water to the southern state by a special train from Pune. The water train consists of 14 wagons (containing 7 lakh litres of water) filled up in Pune and 15 wagons (containing 7.5 lakh litres of water) that came from Ratlam.
WATCH VIDEO: Watch India TV special report on Kerala floods rescue operation
(The story was last updated on 00:02 am)
