Flood toll at 241 in five states, water receding from several parts of Kerala, Maharashtra

The death toll in five flood-affected states rose to 241 on Friday, with authorities retrieving seven more bodies in Kerala as floodwaters receded from several parts of the worst-hit state, while five casualties were reported from Rajasthan.

Over 4,000 people have been moved to relief camps in Guntur and Krishna districts of Andhra Pradesh as the Krishna River is in spate, causing floods and affecting normal life, even as the weather improved in flood-hit western Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh, allowing authorities to speed up rescue and relief operations.

So far 111 people have died in rain-related incidents in Kerala, 70 in Madhya Pradesh, 54 in Maharashtra, five in Rajasthan and one in Andhra Pradesh.

A red alert warning has been issued for Jodhpur, Nagaur and Pali in Rajasthan for the next 24 hours, according to the MeT department.

The Army has been asked to be vigilant as Kota, Baran, Bhilwara, Jhalawar and Bundi districts recorded more than 160 mm of rain since Thursday, an official said.

Disaster Management, Support and Civil Protection Department Secretary Ashutosh AT Pedhenkar told PTI that five people were killed in various rain-related incidents in three districts.

The MeT department has issued a red weather warning for several districts in Himachal Pradesh and an orange warning for extremely heavy rainfall in the entire state over the weekend.

Heavy to very heavy rainfall is likely to occur at most places in the state on August 17 and 18, Shimla MeT Centre director Manmohan Singh said.

The roads might be blocked especially in Chamba, Kullu, Lahaul-Spiti, Kangra, Mandi and Shimla districts due to moderate to heavy rainfall on August 17 and 18, he said.

Meanwhile, light rains in the national capital brought some respite for Delhiites from the humid weather.

The weatherman has forecast generally cloudy sky with the possibility of light to moderate rain/thundershower and strong surface winds during the day on Saturday.

In Andhra Pradesh, a second warning was issued at the Prakasam Barrage across Krisha river in Vijayawda which was carrying over seven lakh cusecs of water.

River Godavari also saw a revival in flood surge on Friday with 7.34 lakh cusecs of water flowing into the Sir Arthur Cotton Barrage at Dowaleswaram.

One person was reported dead in Guntur district in the Krishna flood, according to the State Disaster Management Authority.

The flood flow is expected to cross eight lakh cusecs on Friday night and, accordingly, authorities have issued an alert in the two districts.

The Puligadda aqueduct at Avanigadda is overflowing, cutting off the road network in the Diviseema region of Krishna district.

After receding for the last four days, flood in Godavari increased suddenly on Friday, trapping scores of villages in Devipatnam and Polavaram mandals in east and west.

With more water flowing from the upstream, the flood level in Godavari was expected to increase, officials said.

There was some respite from the incessant rainfall in Kerala, even as the death toll rose to 111.

The sunny weather helped in search operations as more bodies were retrieved from Kavalappara in Malappuram and Puthumala in Meppadi in Wayanad, the worst hit in the second spell of rains since August 8.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said 31 persons were still missing and over 1.47 lakh are in 891 camps across the state.

According to an IMD bulletin, moderate rainfall with wind speeds reaching 35 to 45 kmph is very likely to occur at one or two places in Malappuram, Idukki, Eranakulam,Thrissur and Palakkad districts.

The death toll in flood-affected districts of western Maharashtra reached 54 on Friday with recovery of more bodies.

Twenty-six deaths were reported in Sangli, 10 in Kolhapur, eight in Satara, nine in Pune and one in Solapur.

Over seven lakh people were shifted to safer places during floods in Sangli and Kolhapur districts, where life was returning to normalcy as the rivers Krishna and Panchganga were flowing below the danger mark.

Madhya Pradesh too received a brief reprieve from heavy rains with many parts enjoying sunshine, while excess water was being released from six reservoirs.

Seventy people have died in rain-related incidents in Madhya Pradesh since June 15, when the monsoon hit the state, Revenue Department Additional Secretary G V Rashmi said.

Fresh rains were expected by Saturday morning, according to the India Meteorological Department.

R R Tripathi of IMD Bhopal said heavy rainfall may occur in the districts of Agar-Malwa, Sheopur, Ratlam, Neemuch, Mandsaur, Shajapur, Guna and Rajgarh by Saturday morning.

Sluice gates of six big and medium reservoirs, including Indira Sagar Dam in Khandwa district, have been opened as the reservoirs were full, said Water Resources Department's executive engineer Kamlesh Raikwar.

-PTI