TIL Desk/National/Thiruvananthapuram/ Torrential rain and floods played havoc in Kerala, claiming 30 lives on Thursday, swamping homes, destroying roads, and disrupting air and rail traffic in many places, officials said. Altogether 97 people have died in rain-related incidents since the second spell of monsoon fury got unleashed on August 8.
The murderous weather has claimed 55 lives in the last two days alone. Battling savage weather conditions, the Indian navy began airlifting marooned people in Trichur, Aluva and Muvattupuzha. Dramatic videos showed people stranded atop flooded homes and hills being winched up by navy choppers.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi would visit Kerala and undertake an aerial survey of the flood ravaged areas on Saturday, Union Minister K J Alphons said. Modi was expected to reach Kochi on Friday after attending the funeral of former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, he told reporters. The funeral of Vajpayee, who passed away on Thursday, has been scheduled for 4 pm on Friday in Delhi.
