Thiruvananthapuram: As heavy rain continued to lash several parts of Kerala, the rain-related death toll on Sunday rose to 72 with over 2,47,219 people from 77,688 families have been shifted to 1,639 relief camps in the State. According to the official sources, two people died in Alappuzha, one in Kottayam, five in Idukki, four in Thrissur, 23 in Malappuram, 17 in Kozhikode, 12 in Wayanad and eight in Kannur, for the last four days. More than 58 people are still missing, it added. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, who convened a high-level meeting at his office to assess the rain calamity and rescue efforts, said ''Red Alert'' has been issued for 3 districts, Wayanad, Kannur and Kasaragod, while Orange alert was issued in six districts.
The Chief Minister convened the high-level meeting after visiting the Control Room of the State Disaster Management Authority here to review the flood situation. As many as 22 PWD roads were damaged due to floods in northern Kerala. As nearly 12 substations were disfunctional, power supply to 21.6 lakh connections have been disrupted in the northern districts, he said. "Due to heavy rains, the water in Sholayar dam in neighbouring Tamil Nadu rose to an alarming level, that could lead to the releasing of excess water through Parambikulam and Peringalkuthu dams.
If it happened so, the water level of Chalakkudy river will rise to a dangerous level. The people living near river branches should take precautionary measures," he added. As many as 286 houses were fully damaged and 2966 houses have been partially damaged in the floods. Earlier, the Chief Minister said nearly 80 landslides were reported till this day leading to missing of several people in the State.
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