Rains, floods claim 776 lives in seven states this monsoon; 187 killed in Kerala, 171 in Uttar Pradesh

New Delhi:  Altogether, 776 people have lost their lives, 187 of them in Kerala, in incidents related to rains, floods and landslides in seven states during the monsoon season so far, the Ministry of Home Affairs said on Monday. According to the ministry’s National Emergency Response Centre (NERC), 187 people lost their lives in Kerala , where 2,406 villages in 14 districts were badly hit by the rains and floods and over 26,400 hectres of crops were damaged. [caption id=“attachment_4957931” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] The Aluva Shiva Temple complex on the outskirts of Kochi in Kerala is submerged in water after heavy rain. Reuters[/caption] As many as 171 died in Uttar Pradesh, 170 people in West Bengal, 139 in Maharashtra, 52 people lost their lives in Gujarat, 45 in Assam and 10 in Nagaland. A total of 27 people are also missing in Kerala (22) and West Bengal (5), while 245 others received injuries in rain-related incidents in the states. Deluge and rains have hit 26 districts in Maharashtra, 23 in Assam, 22 in West Bengal, 14 in Kerala, 12 in Uttar Pradesh, 11 Nagaland and 10 in Gujarat. Nearly two lakh people have been living in relief camps in Kerala while 14 teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), comprising 399 rescuers and 34 boats, were deployed in the state. The Indian Air Force has deployed one Advance Light Helicopter (ALH), two Mi-17V choppers and four AN 32 aircraft, and the Indian Navy has deployed one ALH and 20 divers. The army has deployed one column of the Military Engineering Group with 37 persons at Calicut, one column with 37 persons at Idukki and one column with 32 persons at Aluva. One column of army soldiers has been deployed at Chunkathara Nilambur, abd one is also expected to be deployed at Devikulam in Idukki. One army unit with 25 people and one column of Defence Service Corps with 80 people were deployed in Kannur. The Coast Guard has deployed one ALH, a 14-member team in Kochi and a 12-member team at Aluva. One team has been moved from Beypore to Munambham and one team has been on standby at Cochin. One unit of the Territorial Army has also been deployed in Kerala. In Assam, 11.45 lakh people have borne the brunt of the rains and floods, which also hit crops in 27,552 hectares of land. Altogether, 15 NDRF teams are were engaged in rescue and relief operations in Assam, the NERC said. A team of the NDRF comprises 45 personnel. Nine NDRF teams were deployed in Uttar Pradesh, eight in West Bengal, seven in Gujarat, four in Maharashtra and one in Nagaland.