A massive rescue operation has been mounted by the Army, Navy and the State administration to save people who have been remaining marooned in their homes following incessant rains and flooding in places such as Aranmula, Ranni, Kozhencherry, Maramon, Cherukolpuzha and Thiruvalla.
Social media sites were clogged with distress calls since Wednesday noon. Disaster management personnel, fire tenders, revenue and police officials and local people were at work late into the night and early this morning to save as many people as possible without loss of time. Several people were air lifted and taken to the State capital at night.
Twenty fishing boats from Kollam were taken to Pathanamthitta and pressed into operation at several places. Fire Services Department opened two special control rooms at Pathanamthitta and Chengannoor in view of the massive rise in distress calls and messages. In several homes, there were only women, children and the elderly.
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The situation was particularly serious on the banks of the Pamba. At many places, water rose above the first floor level. Distress calls kept pouring into the studios of TV channels and messaging platforms even as late as 90 a.m. today. The situation was aggravated by power disruption. The KSEB has switched off the transformers in the inundated areas to avert electrocution.