11 out of 14 districts in Kerala have been put on high alert, officials said on Saturday, as the death toll from one of the worst floods in the southern state reached 37.
Torrential rains and landslides have ravaged farmlands and prompted massive evacuation efforts in Kerala.
Crops on 1,031 hectares (2547.66 acres) have been damaged and 31,000 people have been forced to take shelter in rescue camps, according to the Kerala State Disaster Management Authority’s (KSDMA) control room in the state capital.
A senior official there said eight districts had been put on varying levels of high alert.
Another government official previously told Reuters that crop worth 3.42 billion rupees ($49.65 million), across 26,824 hectares had been destroyed by rains since their onset on May 29.
PH Kurian, KSDMA’s chief and a top state bureaucrat, said rains had eased.
“There was no rain in the catchment areas of major reservoirs today,” Mr Kurian said. “However, we will continue our alert and preparedness till August 15,” he added.
