Kerala floods LIVE: Rahul Gandhi meets flood-affected people in Chengannur
Over 350 people have lost their lives so far and 869,000 are still in relief camps, with Kerala facing a loss of around Rs 20 billion
 "Kerala floods, rains, rainfall")
A view of the flood affected areas, in Kochi on Sunday, Aug 19, 2018.
10:48 PM
9:21 PM
5:54 PM
People returning to their flood-battered homes in Kerala from relief camps were are being greeted by snakes and other reptiles and insects.
Mustafa, a snake catcher, has caught over 100 snakes from homes.
"It's quite natural that when floods come, snakes come with it and so do other insects from overflowing ponds and rivers. People who return to clean up their homes should be careful and not put their hands into shoes, under cracked tiles or in wet firewood," he said.
A hospital in Angamaly in Ernakuam district is treating 52 persons for snakebites.
5:32 PM
Kerala Police to take strict action against those who spread fake news
"There will be no leniency shown to such people and those who engage in spreading fake messages and news. Already a few are behind the bars," says Kerala police.
5:23 PM
The CPI said and the Centre's assistance of Rs 5 billion to flood-battered Kerala was "too little", and Prime Minister Narendra Modi could have been "more generous" towards the state.
The prime minister had last week announced a relief of Rs 5 billion to the state, in addition to Rs 1 billion announced by Home Minister Rajnath Singh.
CPI General Secretary Suravaram Sudhakar Reddy said, "We are not satisfied. We think it's too little considering the scale of destruction in Kerala. Initial estimates put the loss at Rs 200 billion."
"This (Rs 5 billion) will not be enough," Reddy said.
5:01 PM
Kerala to ask Centre to raise borrowing limit
The Government of Kerala will ask the Centre to raise the state's borrowing limit from three per cent of the GSDP to 4.5 per cent, along with a special package of Rs 26 billion.
A special session of the Legislative Assembly will be called on August 30 to discuss the relief, rehabilitation and reconstruction work to be taken up.
4:41 PM
Insurance companies expect claims in flood ravaged Kerala to cross Rs 1,000 crore (Rs 10 billion) as the government declares the deluge as 'calamity of severe nature'. Assessment of claims will take place with situation moving to normal, a senior official of an insurance firm said, adding clear picture will emerge in the next 4-5 days when claims are received.
Given the magnitude, preliminary assessment points that claims for car, home and industry will be upwards Rs 1,000 crore (Rs 10 billion), the official said. Yesterday, the central government exempted customs duty and inter-state taxes on relief material for Kerala, reported PTI.
Given the magnitude, preliminary assessment points that claims for car, home and industry will be upwards Rs 1,000 crore (Rs 10 billion), the official said. Yesterday, the central government exempted customs duty and inter-state taxes on relief material for Kerala, reported PTI.
4:37 PM
Central Railway employees have decided to contribute parts of their salary for the the rescue and relief operations of flood-hit Kerala, according to details released by the ministry on Tuesday, said IANS report. Both the officers and staff of the central railway zone with headquarters in Mumbai will contribute to the Kerala Chief Minister's Relief Fund according to their pay grade.
4:31 PM
The Telangana State IAS Officers Association on Tuesday decided to contribute one day's salary of serving IAS officers in the state towards relief and rehabilitation efforts in rain-ravaged Kerala. The Association today submitted a letter to the Chief Secretary to deduct one day salary from the August 2018 salary, official sources said. The Telangana government had earlier contributed Rs 25 crore for the relief efforts in Kerala, said a PTI report.
4:24 PM
The staff of J&K Bank will contribute Rs 11 crore (Rs 110 million) to help the flood-affected people of Kerala, reported PTI.
While most of the staffers are donating their six days' salary towards the relief fund in the southern state, the top executives helped enhance the scale of contribution with their salary of up to two months. The J&K bank staff has decided to donate six days of their salary to the flood victims in Kerala. The Chairman and CEO of the bank, Parvez Ahmed, shall be contributing two months' salary while the executive presidents will donate their one month salary towards the cause.
3:48 PM
Maruti Suzuki India said on Tuesday that the company along with its employees will donate Rs 3.5 crore (Rs 35 million) as Kerala flood relief work
It has donated Rs 2 crore (Rs 20 million) towards the Prime Minister's National Relief Fund to strengthen relief, rebuilding and rehabilitation efforts of the government, Maruti Suzuki India said in a statement. Also, employees will make a contribution amounting to Rs 1.5 crore (Rs 15 million). Earlier in the day, Bajaj Auto also announced contribution of Rs 2 crore (Rs 20 million) in aid of flood-hit Kerala, reported PTI.
3:42 PM
3:37 PM
In places where people are stranded and cannot communicate as their mobile phones are not working, HAM radio operators are tracking the last location of their phone's signal. Based on it, they are trying to locate the person.
HAM radio operators are helping in rescue operations in flood-devastated Kerala by tracing stranded people through their last mobile phone location and sharing information with officials as most communication services remain hit in the state. The HAM or amateur radio operators are licenced to conduct such communications under specific radio frequencies by the Union Ministry of Communications, said a PTI report.
According to a PTI report, over 1,650 people were rescued based on HAM radio support from the Thiruvananthapuram centre from August 16 to August 19. More than 300 HAM radio operators are working round-the-clock in Kerala and are helping the administration in rescue operations, Director of the Hyderabad-based National Institute of Amateur Radio, Ram Mohan Suri, said.
In places where people are stranded and cannot communicate as their mobile phones are not working, HAM radio operators are tracking the last location of their phone's signal. Based on it, they are trying to locate the person.
3:26 PM
The Cochin International Airport on Limired (CIAL) has suffered an estimated loss of over Rs 220 crore (Rs 2.2 billion) in the Kerala floods. The CIAL management has launched rebuilding of the damaged infrastructure including 2.5 km long airport walls that collapsed after Periyar river overflowed. The runway, taxi bay, duty free shops and other areas of international and domestic terminals were also submerged, causing damage to electrical equipment including runway lights, PTI reported.
The solar power system of the world's first solar-powered airport has also suffered damage in the floods. The airport is expected to be reopened next week.
11:44 AM
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First Published: Aug 21 2018 | 3:31 PM IST
