42 dead due to rains, landslides in Kerala since October 12, says CM Pinarayi Vijayan

Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala) [India], October 20 (ANI): Forty-two people have died due to rains and landslides between October 12 and 20, while six people are missing, said Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Wednesday.
The Chief Minister also said that as many as 304 relief centres have been opened in the state. Financial assistance to the affected people will be given shortly, he confirmed.
As many as 11 NDRF teams have been deployed in the state for rescue operations and the Chief Minister said that Army personnel were also a part of the rescue operations, along with the helicopters of the Air Force and the Navy.
Thrippunithura MLA K Babu, the only speaker on behalf of Opposition today, offered support to the state government while also raising concerns on the frequently occurring situation in Kerala, wherein over 500 lives have been lost in the last four years.
Babu asked the state government if there was a lack in sending out warnings in disaster-prone areas and asked them to access the efficiency of the existing system to avoid the loss of life in future.
Meanwhile, India Meteorological Department on Wednesday continued its orange alert warning for parts of Kerala amid heavy rains. An orange alert has been issued for the Kottayam, Pathanamthitta, and Idukki districts of Kerala.
Places falling on the banks of the Periyar river have been put on high alert by the Ernakulam district administration as the water released from the Idukki dam has reached flood-prone areas of Aluva in Kochi on Wednesday morning. (ANI)