Kerala, August 21: The Kerala government has called for an all-party meeting over the flood situation in the state at 4 PM today at Thiruvananthapuram, according to an ANI report. On Monday, the Centre declared the massive floods in Kerala as a 'calamity of severe nature'. The declaration comes days after the Opposition attacked the government for refraining to declare the floods in Kerala as a 'natural disaster'. With the 'severe calamity' declaration issued, additional aid for the flood-ravaged state will be sanctioned.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who flew from Delhi on last Friday night, made an aerial assessment of the damage caused by the floods. However, the survey was done only in some of the affected areas due to bad weather.  Modi on Saturday announced Rs 500 crore financial assistance for flood-ravaged Kerala. He also announced an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh each to the next of kin of the deceased and Rs 50,000 to those seriously injured from the Prime Minister's National Relief Fund (PMNRF).

According to an ANI report, the train services which had collapsed following the incessant downpour in Kerala, have been partially restored. The train services in Kayankulam-Kottayam- Ernakulam and Palakkad-Shoranur-Kozhikkode sections have been resumed. Trivandrum- Ernakulam section was also connected by passenger Special Trains for the flood period. Few special trains were started via Trivandrum, Tirunelveli, and Madurai to Chennai, Egmore, Howarah, Gorakhpur, Bhubaneswar routes to evacuate stranded people.

As part of the rescue operations, the first commercial Air India flight landed at INS Garuda Kochi Naval Air Station on Monday. The water levels have started to reduce at the Cochin International Airport which is shut till August 26, and flights are getting diverted to Kozhikode and Thiruvananthapuram. Other flights like GoAir, IndiGo, Jet Airways and others are taking part in the rescue operation by operating special flights. Kerala Floods: Air India, IndiGo, Jet Airways, GoAir, SpiceJet Start Special Flights As Part of Rescue Operation. Donations are pouring in from not only India but from other countries as well to help the people in Kerala come out of this crisis period.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 21, 2018 08:43 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).