Kerala rains: Rajnath Singh conducts aerial survey, announces additional relief of Rs 100 cr

Thiruvananthapuram, Aug 12: Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh conducted an aerial survey of flood-hit Kerala on Sunday. He was accompanied by Tourism Minister KJ Alphons and senior officers from the Ministry of Home Affairs.

At least 37 people were killed, nearly 54,000 left homeless while dams and rivers overflowed, parts of highways collapsed, and homes were swept away in severe flooding across the state as the heavy downpour continued for the fourth day on Saturday.

Torrential rains and landslides during June-September monsoon season have ravaged farmlands and prompted massive evacuation efforts in Kerala state.

Rajnath Singh was expected to travel to the state on Sunday to take a stock of the relief and rescue operations, Kurian added.

Kerala state authorities have taken the unprecedented step of opening the gates of 25 water reservoirs to prevent potentially disastrous breaches.