Kerala rains

Thiruvananthapuram:  The district collectors of Kollam, Pathanamthitta, Alappuzha, and Kasargod districts in Kerala have declared a holiday on Monday for schools and colleges, due to heavy rains. The state government had earlier…

With incessant rain in Kerala, the death toll has reached 28 and over 64,000 people have shifted into 738 relief camps across the rain-battered state, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said on Friday.

The Kerala government on Sunday informed the National Crisis Management Committee (NCMC) that the situation in the flood-ravaged state was gradually improving, even as some rainfall was forecast for the coastal state from Monday onwards.

Two special fare special trains from Ernakulam in flood-hit Kerala to Santragachhi in West Bengal to evacuate the stranded people and clear extra rush of passengers were started by the South Eastern Railway (SER) today.

The rainy season arrived in India almost three days ahead of the forecast with Kerala coasts receiving the first showers of the Southwest monsoon, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Tuesday.