Flood situation in Kerala still grim, 26 people dead so far

At least 26 people have died so far, media reports said.

All five gates of the Idukki Reservoir were reportedly opened on Friday as the heavy downpour continued.

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh has assured Kerala Chief Minister Pinrayi Vijayan of all possible assistance from the Centre.

Many parts of northern Kerala are completely isolated by landslides and floods due to heavy rains.

The Army, Navy, Air Force and the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) are conducting evacuation and relief operations in the flood affected areas.

The Kerala state government requested the Indian Air Force to provide urgent assistance in Wayanad for providing relief to the affected people.

"IAF had responded immediately to the crisis and is extending all possible assistance to the people affected by landslides and floods in Kerala through Humanitarian Assistance Disaster Relief (HADR) missions," a Ministry of Defence statement said.

Five An-32 transport aircraft were deployed to transport NDRF teams and their equipment from Arakkonam to Calicut on Thursday.

In addition, two NDRF teams from Vijaywada and two team of Army Engineering Group from Bangalore and Hyderabad have been transported to Calicut. 

"Two Mi-17 V5 helicopter and one Advance Light Helicopter (ALH) has been pressed into service for distribution of relief material and winching operations. On 09 Aug 18, three persons were winched to safety by IAF helicopters and 300 Kg of relief material was dropped for flood affected people," the statement said.

"These helicopters continue to be deployed for relief and rescue operations even now and are being tasked as requested by the state administration," it added.