Thiruvananthapuram: At least 56 people were killed as monsoon wrecks havoc in Kerala, state revenue minister E Chandrasekaran told the state assembly. He said that the government has decided to provide Rs 4,00,000 as ex-gratia to the kin of the deceased and added that 28,700 people have been shifted to relief camps so far.
The damage due to rain was reported from almost all districts of the state. At Payam in Kannoor, nine houses were damaged because of the heavy flooding. A major landslide near Thamarassery in Kozhikode district claimed 14 lives. The Kozhikode district administration has also issued a travel ban on Thamarassery Ghat in the wake of heavy rains that continues to lash the district.
Kozhikode district collector U V Jose has ordered an inquiry into the charge that construction of an illegal check dam near Kattipara added to the intensity of the landslide. Minister Chandrasekaran, who visited the landslide-hit areas at Kattipara, warned of severe action against those indulged in unauthorised constructions in ecologically fragile zones.
A team of 96 persons from the National Disaster Response Force have been deployed in the state. Officials at the state control room for Disaster Management in Thiruvananthapuram said the flood situation has improved in the state with water receding from almost all areas.
