Rains return to Kerala after brief lull, toll rises to 102, 37 still missing
Thiruvananthapuram, Aug 14: After a brief respite, rains lashed several parts of Kerala on Wednesday under the influence of the 'vigorous' South West Monsoon as the death toll in its second spell rose to 102 with 37 people missing.
Rains, which abated on Monday, battered various parts since Tuesday night with the Met office in its latest update forecasting more showers, including heavy rains in isolated places, in the next few days and warning fishermen not to venture into sea.
Chalakudy in Thrissur received 17 cm rains on Wednesday, followed by Peermade in Idukki (15), Cherthala in Alappuzha (13), Agathi (Lakshadweep) and Enamackel, Thrissur (12 each), the Met department said.
A government update at 5 PM said a total of102 people lost their lives across the state in floods and landslides, triggered by the second spell of monsoon, since August 8.
Though people have started shifting to their homes in many places, there are still 1,89,649 sheltered in 1,119 relief camps.
The Met department in its update for the next 24 hours from 6 pm on Wednesday said the monsoon has been vigorous in most places in the state.
Warning fishermen not to venture into sea, it said strong wind from southwesterly direction with speed reaching 45-55 kmph was likely along and off Kerala coast.
A red alert (extremely heavy rains) had been issued for three northern districts of Malappuram, Kannur and Kozhikode, which bore the brunt of the flood fury and landslides last week, and central district Pathanamthitta was put on high vigil due to torrential rains since last night.
A holiday was declared for educational institutions in 11 of the 14 districts in the state on Wednesday.
The state government announced a package of flood compensation with an immediate financial aid of up to Rs 10,000 each to all calamity-hit families, who had suffered loss in the flash floods and unprecedented landslides triggered in the second spell of monsoon.
After chairing a cabinet meeting, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said a total of Rs 4 lakh compensation would be given to those whose houses had been fully damaged or had become inhabitable and Rs 10 lakh to those who had lost their house as well as land.
Compensation would also be given for the crop loss, repair and rebuild of damaged roads and buildings and for the maintenance of drinking water and irrigation projects, he said adding that flood-hit families and fishermen would be given 35 kg free rice.
On Wednesday, a fisherman drowned and three others were rescued when their fishing craft capsized in nearby Vizhinjam.
Despite inclement weather, search operations continued at Kavalappara in Malappuram and Puthumala in Wayanad, where a series of landslides had wiped out two villages last week, to trace those who were suspected to have gone missing.
Malappuram district accounted for most deaths with toll there rising to 42 on Wednesday and 29 people still missing, followed by Kozhikode (17), Wayanad (12 deaths, 7 missing), Kannur 9 and Thrissur 8. One person was missing in Kottayam district.
As per the government update, a total of 11,286 houses have been partially damaged and 1,060 fully damaged.
Chief Minister Vijayan and Congress leader and MP Rahul Gandhi had toured the worst affected districts of Malappuram and Wayanad.
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Real Madrid fines Valverde and Tchouaméni half a million euros each for altercation
Barcelona (AP): Real Madrid slapped players Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni with half-a-million-euro ($588,000) fines on Friday for their altercation during practice.
The massive fines came a day after the midfielders tussled when the team trained. Valverde said in a post on social media on Thursday that no punches were thrown. But Valverde knocked his head on a table and he suffered a small cut that required a brief hospital visit.
On social media, Valverde initially called it a “meaningless fight” with a teammate and said “everything has been blown out of proportion."
His employers, however, considered it a significant enough breach of team discipline to nail both Valverde and Tchouaméni with fines that bite even the bank account of a top soccer player. The half-a-million euro penalties reflect the reputational damage the club was enduring in a chaotic end to a disappointing season.
In a statement, the 15-time European champion said its disciplinary action was concluded after both players expressed to the club “their complete remorse for what happened and apologized to one another.”
Madrid added they also apologized to their teammates, the coaching staff and club supporters, as well as showing their willingness to accept whatever disciplinary action the club deemed “opportune.”
Tchouaméni was back training with Madrid on Friday, two days before they play at Barcelona in a clasico. Madrid has to win otherwise Barcelona will be crowned La Liga champion.
After being notified of the fine, he posted a public apology to the club and its fans on social media.
“What happened this week in training is unacceptable,” Tchouaméni wrote. "I say this while thinking about the example we are expected to set for young people, whether in football or at school.
“Above all, I am sorry for the image we projected of the club.”
Valverde was not at practice due to the head knock.
Both players are set to play in the World Cup next month, with Tchouaméni playing for France and Valverde for Uruguay.
Chaotic end to a poor season
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The run-in between the players, who for seasons have played side by side in Madrid's midfield, came after they argued this week in previous training sessions. But tempers boiled over on Thursday. Spanish media was rife with reports that the players previously disagreed over the club's decision to let coach Xabi Alonso go after just months on the job.
It was not the only altercation involving Madrid players during training this week. Álvaro Carreras confirmed he was in a “minor” incident with a teammate. Spanish media said he and fellow defender Antonio Rüdiger got into a scuffle.
Álvaro Arbeloa, the coach who was promoted from Madrid's reserve team when Alonso was fired in January, will face tough questions on what went wrong inside the changing room when he gives a press conference on Saturday ahead of the clasico at Camp Nou.
Madrid is facing a second consecutive campaign without a major trophy amid rumors in the Spanish media that club president Florentino Pérez is considering bringing back Jose Mourinho to straighten out his underperforming team.
