After pounding Kerala for days, rains abated on Sunday even as the death toll in the monsoon fury climbed to 67 with over 2.27 lakh people being sheltered in relief camps across the State.
With the recovery of seven more bodies, including four from Kozhikode and one from Wayanad on Sunday, the toll has gone up to 67, official sources said.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi visited a relief camp at Wayanad and patiently heard the woes of the people who were displaced from their homes following flooding and destruction of their dwellings.
Gandhi also visited Kavalappara, a 10 acre settlement near Nilambur in Malappuram, which bore the brunt of a massive landslide on August 8.
Local people said that there was no sign of the 35 odd houses after the landslide and at least 65 people are suspected to have been buried alive.
The Malappuram Disaster Management Authority said 11 bodies have been retrieved so far from Kavalappara in Malappuram District.
The official also said that nearly 50 bodies are suspected to be buried under the soil.
“Nearly 50 persons are suspected to be buried under the soil. This is the count we got from the taluk authorities. We are yet to ascertain the number of houses that were destroyed. The whole landscape has changed,” the official told PTI.
IAF heclicopters of Southern Air Command dropped food packets over the flood affected areas of Malappuram district. Over 1,000 kg of food items were air dropped in multiple sorties, a Defence press release said.