Heavy rains batter Kerala, 11 NDRF, 2 Army, 2 DSC teams deployed for flood rescue

IMD issued Red alert in five districts whereas an Orange alert has been issued for seven districts of the southern state.

Image used for representational purpose

Thiruvananthapuram: Following heavy rains, the central forces teams including 11 National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), two Army and two Defence Service Corps (DSC) teams have been deployed in the south and central parts of Kerala.

This comes after Communist Party of India (CPI) Member of Parliament from Rajya Sabha, Binoy Viswam has written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday to draw his attention towards heavy rainfall across Kerala and urged him to assist the State Government`s efforts by deploying NDRF at the earliest in order to safeguard the lives of the people.

CPI MP Binoy Viswam, in a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday, said that heavy rainfall is being witnessed across Kerala. "The situation is deteriorating rapidly due to the continuous rainfall and requires the utmost attention of all authorities at both the State and Central Government," it read.

As far as four people have died in landslides at Koottikkal in Kottayam and Kokkayar in Idukki districts as heavy rain is continuing in Kerala, with six districts put on red alert.

Considering the seriousness of the situation, the State Emergency Management Centre has been made more active and representatives from KSEB and Irrigation Departments have been deployed to assess the condition of the dams. 

All department heads concerned have been directed to be prepared to deal with any emergency.

As per the press release by IMD, Red alert is issued in Pathanamthitta, Kottayam, Ernakulam, Idukki, Thrissur districts. Whereas, Orange alert has been issued in Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Alapuzha, Palakkad, Malappuram, Kozhikode and Wayanad districts of the southern state.

The state government is closely monitoring the situation.