The flood situation remained grim in Maharashtra, Karnataka and Kerala as torrential rains, gusty winds and landslips left a trail of destruction, with reports of 15 deaths on Thursday.
According to the India Meteorological Department, heavy to very heavy rains are likely in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Maharashtra, Gujarata, Karnataka and Kerala over the next two days.
Kerala
There was no let-up from heavy rains in Kerala as four members of a family were killed at Edavanna in Malappuram district when their house collapsed on Friday, taking the rain-related death toll in the state to 12, while over 22,000 people have been moved to relief camps.
The Cochin International Airport, where flight operations was suspended till midnight Friday after floodwaters inundated the apron area (parking), will remain closed till 3 pm on Sunday, an official press release said.
Moderate to heavy rainfall with wind speed reaching 40-50 kmph is very likely to at one or two places in Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Pathanamthitta, Alappuzha, Kottayam, Idukki, Ernakulam and Thrissur districts, the India Meteorological Department said.
High waves in the range of 3.2-3.7 metres are forecast till 23:30 hours of Saturday along the coast of Kerala from Pozhiyoor to Kasargod. Officials have advised fishermen not to venture into these areas during the period.
Train services on the Mararikulam-Alapuzha route was suspended this morning for a few hours as a tree fell on the track, damaging electric lines. At least 4 trains -- Maveli Express, Rajdhani, Dhanbad express and Guruvayur -- were held up at various points, railway sources said.
In Vatakara in Kozhikode district, three people are said to be missing after a landslide.
Pala town in Kottayam is flooded and traffic movement has stopped.
At Edavanna in Malappuram district four members of a family, including two children, died in a house collapse, police said.
Till Thursday, eight people had died in the state, mainly in northern Kerala, in rain-related incidents.
As per the official updates on Friday morning, 22,165 people have been shifted to 315 relief camps in the state.
In Wayanad, which is among the worst affected, 9,951 people have taken shelter in 105 camps, while in Malappuram, 4,106 people have been shifted to 26 camps.
Revenue Minister E Chandrasekharan told reporters that four squads of defence personnel from Bhopal and two from Niligiris are reaching the state to help in rescue operations.
Several persons are suspected to be missing in the massive landslip reported from Meppadi in Wayanad district Friday, where, a temple, a mosque and a couple of houses and a few vehicles have come under the debris.
Biju, an eyewitness, said a canteen and residents of plantation workers was also destroyed in the landslide. Many people ran away from the canteen and were rescued.
Nine injured people have been shifted to a hospital.
As the approach road to the mishap site is completely destroyed, local people had to walk at least 6 km to bring the injured to hospital, Biju told a television channel.
There is no power in the area over the past three three days and no communication is possible, he said.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, who had held a held a meeting with government and state Disaster Management Authority officials on Thursday night, said a "serious situation" is prevailing in parts of the state, especially wayanad.
Educational institutions and professional colleges in all districts in the state will remain closed on Saturday.
Examinations of the Kerala Public Service Commission and various Universities across the state, scheduled for Saturday have been postponed, officials said.
Maharashtra
Over two lakh persons have been evacuated to safer places due to the floods that have wreaked havoc in five districts of Western Maharashtra, the worst hit being the districts of Sangli and Kolhapur, as of Thursday.
At least nine persons drowned in Sangli district when a rescue boat capsized. The region is being pounded by rains incessantly over the last few days.
The total number of deaths due to rain or flood-related incidents in five districts of the region during this period was 27, officials said.
Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis said the Karnataka government had agreed to discharge water from Almatti dam on the Krishna river, which would ease the flooding in Maharashtra.
The flood-hit districts, especially Sangli and Kolhapur, are staring at the challenge of repairing damaged houses, roads and restoring water and electricity supply.
Divisional Commissioner Deepak Mhaisekar said that a total of 2,05,591 people have been shifted in the districts of Sangli, Kolhapur, Solapur, Pune and Satara.
In Kolhapur, 97,102 persons have been shifted, followed 80,319 in Sangli.
In Sangli, water entered the district prison, forcing authorities to shift inmates to the upper floor.
Fadnavis spoke to his Karnataka counterpart B S Yediyurappa earlier in the day, who agreed to release five lakh cusec water from Almatti dam in Karnataka, located downstream on the Krishna which originates in Western Maharashtra.
At least nine people drowned and four went missing after a boat engaged in rescue work overturned near Brahmanal village in Palus tehsil of Sangli.
The boat, belonging to local village panchayat, was carrying around 30 people. Late in the evening, some sources put the death toll at 11 which could not be confirmed.
Rescue teams including those of NDRF, Navy, Coast Guard and Army were operating in Sangli and Kolhapur.
A dozen rescue teams of the Indian Navy are being deployed in the flood-devastated Sangli district, an official said on Friday.
The rescue teams left for Sangli on Thursday night by road in state transport vehicles after their airlift was aborted due to unfavourable condition in Sangli and adjoining Kolhapur, another flood-hit district, a defence spokesperson said in a statement.
Police escorts were provided for a green corridor till Sangli, around 375km from here, the spokesperson said.
"These 12 Navy teams will be deployed today (Friday) in Sangli in addition to the teams already present in Kolhapur," he added.
"As many as 223 villages in Kolhapur are affected. 18 have been completely marooned," he added. Some 38,000 people are staying in relief camps in 152 places in Kolhapur district and sixty boats have been pressed into service, he added.
As many as 3,813 houses are affected in the district.
Those affected will get financial assistance alongwith foodgrains, and a compensation of Rs 5 lakh will be given to the kin of the deceased, the chief minister said.
As many as 390 water supply schemes in flood-affected areas have become dysfunctional, he said.
"Priority is being given to restoration of water and electricity supply," the chief minister said.
Crops over 67,000 hectares are damaged in Kolhapur district and there is scarcity of petrol and diesel, he said.
The Mumbai-Bengaluru National Highway, which passes through Kolhapur, is closed for traffic, he said.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah spoke to Fadnavis during the day and assured him all help from the Centre, officials said.
Karnataka
Nearly 44,000 people have so far been evacuated from flood-hit and rain-affected areas of Karnataka, where the rain fury has left nine people dead in the past few days, as authorities on Thursday intensified the rescue and relief operations.
The worst-hit was Belagavi district, where six people have lost their lives while 40,180 people have been evacuated by rescue teams comprising Fire and Emergency department, state Disaster Response Force, National Disaster Response Force and Army, official sources said.
Two people died in rain-related incidents in Uttara Kannada district, from where 3,088 people have been shifted to safety till date, and one in Shivamogga, according to official figures.
Nearly 17,000 people are taking shelter in relief camps.
Karnataka chief minister B S Yediyurappa, camping in Belagavi supervising the relief and rescue operations, appealed to the people to donate generously saying that at least Rs 5,000 crore would be required for relief and rehabilitation operations.
The Infosys Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the tech giant Infosys, volunteered to donate Rs 10 crore.
"I appeal to donors with folded hands that we are in a peculiar situation. Please donate generously," the chief minister said addressing reporters after inspecting the flood ravaged areas in Belagavi in north Karantaka.
He said at least 30,000 houses were required to be built, adding, there was no dearth of resources to carry out our relief operations.
Yediyurappa also said four teams of public representatives have been formed to supervise relief operations in different flood and rain-affected areas.
The Belagavi team would be headed by him and Union Minister of State for Railway Suresh Angadi whereas former chief minister Jagadish Shettar would lead the Dharwad team.
K S Eshwarappa would head the Shivamogga team while Udupi-Chikkamagaluru MP Shobha Karandlaje would head the coastal team, he said.
He also said at least five lakh cusecs of water would be released from Koyna Dam due to the grim flood situation in Maharashtra.
Yediyurappa also visited several flood-hit areas of Belagavi and adjoining districts.
In Belagavi town, basement of many residential and commercial complexes were filled with waist deep water causing power shut-down. Many vehicles were submerged.
Roads virtually resembled rivers while there was no power in several parts of the city.
Severe drinking water crisis has also been reported in many parts of the district as water gushed into Hidalkal and Rakaskop dam pump house, the two sources of water supply in the city.
The district administration has declared holiday for schools and colleges till August 10.