Thiruvananthapuram: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday (October 17) spoke to Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan over the deaths and devastation caused on account of the landslide following relentless rains in the southern state. The PM expressed condolences to the families of the bereaved and assured that the authorities are working to help the injured and affected.

Informing the matter in public, in a tweet, PM Modi said:  "Spoke to Kerala CM Shri@vijayanpinarayi and discussed the situation in the wake of heavy rains and landslides in Kerala. Authorities are working on the ground to assist the injured and affected. I pray for everyone's safety and well-being".

Meantime, the Kerala state revenue department has mentioned that 25 people have lost their lives in the heavy rains and landslips in the past two days. As many as 35 relief camps have also been set up in Pathanamthitta district. State revenue minister, K. Rajan is leading the rescue operations from Idukki and Kottayam districts of the state. The state government has announced immediate assistance of Rs 8 crore to the Kottayam district, where the rain hit hardest.

Meanwhile, the IMD has said that the state will have heavy rains from Wednesday onwards for four days. Kerala State Electricity Board suffered massive losses with around 20 transformers destroyed in the landslips while 11 kV lines were damaged in many parts of Kottayam and Idukki districts. What sparked the rain? A low pressure system that developed in the east-central Arabian Sea on October 14 triggered the massive downpour. Kerala witnessed heavy to very heavy rain (115.5mm to 204.4mm in 24 hours), and extremely heavy rain (over 204.4mm in 24 hours) in at over six of its southern districts since Thursday.

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