16 States Brace for Heavy to Very Heavy Rains as Death Toll Touches 37 in Kerala

New Delhi: Heavy to very heavy rains are expected in 16 states, including Kerala, where 37 people have died in the monsoon fury since August 8.

In a statement, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) advised fishermen not to venture in the central Arabian Sea for the next two days.

Red warning for heavy to very heavy rain at a few places with extremely heavy falls at isolated places very likely over Uttarakhand tomorrow (Sunday) and Monday, the NDMA said, quoting a bulletin of the India Meteorological Department. “Rough to very rough sea conditions are likely to prevail over west central Arabian Sea. Fishermen are advised not to venture into this area," it added.

Heavy to very heavy rains are likely at isolated places over Uttarakhand, Sub-Himalayan West Bengal, Sikkim, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Meghalaya, coastal Andhra Pradesh, coastal Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala.

As many as 718 people have lost their lives in incidents related to floods and rains in seven states during the monsoon season so far.

According to the Home Ministry's National Emergency Response Centre (NERC), 178 people have died in Kerala, 171 lost their lives in Uttar Pradesh, 170 were killed in West Bengal, and 139 have died in Maharashtra. As many as 52 people lost their lives in Gujarat, 44 died in Assam and eight perished in Nagaland.

A total of 26 people are also missing — 21 in Kerala and five in West Bengal — while 244 others received injuries in rain-related incidents in the states.

Though there was a respite from rains across rain-ravaged Kerala, especially in catchment areas of Idukki dam, the Indian Meteorological Department issued a 'Red alert', asking people to be cautious as there was a possibility of heavy to very heavy rainfall in most places in Idukki, Wayanad, Kannur, Ernakulam, Palakkad and Malappuram.

According to Indian National Centre for Ocean information services, there was a possibility of flooding in low-lying coastal areas in Kerala, especially during high tide timings due to 'Perigean spring tides' from August 11-15.