Heavy rains: 19 people lose lives, over 10,000 people displaced in Kerala

THIRUVANATHAPURAM: As many as 19 people have lost their lives and over 10,000 people have been shifted to relief camps in Kerala due to heavy monsoon rains which have been wrecking havoc in the southern state for over one week.

Though the intensity of the rain appeared to decline, some parts of the the state continued to receive incessant rains on Saturday morning causing traffic jams and waterlogging in low-lying areas.

According to the State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA), a total of 19 people have lost their lives in rain-related incidents in the southern state till Saturday evening.

''As many as 10,399 people are there in 227 relief camps opened across the state following heavy rains,'' a SDMA official told PTI.

As per the figures, as many as 1,100 houses were partially damaged so far and other details of damage were not yet available, the official added.

As the intensity of rain that lashed the state for the past few days reduced, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) sounded a yellow alert in seven districts-Alappuzha, Ernakulam, Malappuram, Kozhikode, Wayanad, Kannur and Kasaragod for the day.

Meanwhile, heavy rains pounded many areas of Kochi, Kozhikode and high-range Idukki in the early morning hours.

Trees were uprooted causing traffic block on the national highways in Kozhikode and Kannur-Thalassery route this morning. Traffic resumed in both places after the fire service personnel cleared the path.

Waterlogging on roads affected normal life in Pathanamthitta and Thiruvalla regions.

A red alert indicates heavy to extremely heavy rains of over 20 cm in 24 hours, while an orange alert means very heavy rains of 6 cm to 20 cm. A yellow alert means heavy rainfall between 6 to 11 cm.