Floodwaters recede to low-lying areas

Nearly one-lakh people living in relief camps in Kottayam district

Even as floodwaters continued to recede from midland, the water level in low-lying areas bordering Vembanad Lake has come under greater stress as water level in the lake too has risen. Meanwhile, evacuation from the Kuttanad area continued on Sunday as well and hundreds of people have been shifted to relief camps in the district.

Nearly one-lakh people are housed in relief camps in the district, according to authorities.

In Vaikom

Situation in the Vaikom region remained grim as the floodwaters have ebbed from the midland to the low-lying areas. More than half of the evacuees are from Vaikom.

According to authorities, 53,834 people are accommodated in 94 camps opened in the taluk.

Situation in the Kumrakom-Thiruvarpu area worsened as floodwaters from higher planes have reached there now.

Camp flooded

Those accommodated at the SKM Public School at Kumarakom had to be moved to safer places in Nattakom as floodwaters entered the camp. They were shifted by road in lorries with higher road clearance to the relief camps at Government Polytechnic and Government College at Nattakom.

The inflow of evacuees from Ramankari area in Kuttanad continued on Sunday. While many went to the relief camps, many others chose to move to their relatives’ houses.

Meanwhile, the eastern hill ranges are still under threat of landslips. Nearly 30 families from Pulickel Colony in Parathode grama panchayat in Kanjirappally were shifted to safer places following landslip threat in the area.

According to authorities, 98,175 persons are housed in 411 relief camps in the district.

Kottayam taluk has 21,859 people in 193 camps and Changanassery taluk has 20,207 people in 96 camps.

Meanwhile, District Collector B.S. Thirumeni asked donors to provide bottled water in 20 litre cans instead of providing in one-litre bottles.