Thiruvananthapuram: The deadly monsoon rains that savaged Kerala claimed 13 more lives on Sunday, taking the toll to 210 in the last ten days as Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said most of the marooned had been rescued and the focus would now be on their rehabilitation.
In a significant relief, there was a respite from the rains in most parts of the state on Sunday after nearly two weeks of virtually non-stop downpour, and the red alert has been lifted in several districts.
The deadliest deluge in close to a century has claimed 210 lives since August 8 and over 400 since May 29 when the south-west monsoon set in over Kerala. More than 80 dams were opened, leading to floods while the rains also triggered landslides.
High-range Idukki district, Malappuram and Thrissur are among the worst hit.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday undertook an aerial survey of monsoon-ravaged areas and announced immediate assistance of Rs 500 crore.
In good news, the rainfall intensity over Kerala has decreased over the past two days, the meteorology department said on Sunday, adding there is no alert of heavy precipitation for the next four days in the state.
The number of those displaced in the torrential rains was put at 7.24 lakh by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, who said most of the affected had been rescued and the government's focus would now be their rehabilitation.
Around 22,000 people were rescued on Sunday in the operations launched by the defence personnel, national and state disaster response forces, fishermen and local people.
Commercial flight operations from Kochi hit following the closure of its international airport due to flooding, would resume on Monday from the Naval airport to Coimbatore and Bengaluru, bringing some relief to travellers.
Meanwhile, as floodwaters receded in some areas, people in relief camps have slowly started returning to their homes.
As per a preliminary estimate, there was Rs 4,441 crore loss to the government following the damage to roads and bridges. At least 220 bridges have been damaged, and 59 were still submerged, officials said.