A total of 19 people have lost their lives and over 10,000 people have been shifted to relief camps in Kerala because of heavy monsoon rain which has been wreaking havoc in the southern state for over one week.

Although the intensity of the rain appeared to decline, some parts of the state continued to receive incessant rains on Saturday morning causing traffic jams and waterlogging in low-lying areas.

According to the State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA), 19 people have lost their lives in rain-related incidents in the southern state till Saturday evening.

“As many as 10,399 people are there in 227 relief camps opened across the state following heavy rain,” an SDMA official told PTI.

According to the figures, around 1,100 houses were partially damaged so far and other details of damage were not yet available, the official added.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) sounded a yellow alert in seven districts — Alappuzha, Ernakulam, Malappuram, Kozhikode, Wayanad, Kannur and Kasaragod — for the day as the intensity of rain that lashed the state for the past few days reduced.

Heavy rain pounded many areas of Kochi, Kozhikode and high-range Idukki in the early morning hours on Saturday. Trees were uprooted causing traffic blocks on national highways in Kozhikode and on the Kannur-Thalassery route on Saturday morning.

Traffic resumed in both places after the fire service personnel cleared the path.

PTI