MUMBAI/Kochi:Monsoon rains continue to batter large parts of India, particularly the states of Kerala, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Assam, Odisha and other states in the eastern zone. In a grim reminder of last year’s devastating floods that wreaked havoc in Kerala, heavy rains, landslips and floods are again battering the state this monsoon. 

Eight people have already lost their lives in Kerala while almost 22,000 people have already been evacuated to safety. In Maharashtra, over two lakh people have been evacuated to safer places as heavy rains continue to pound several districts in the western half of the state. 

At least nine persons drowned in Sangli district on Thursday when a rescue boat capsized. Total number of deaths due to rain or flood-related incidents in five districts of the region has climbed to 27. 

Large parts of Madhya Pradesh have been affected by heavy rains as several hundred across the state were evacuated. In Karnataka, about 44,000 people have been evacuated from flood-hit and rain-hit areas of the state, where the rain fury has left nine people dead in the past few days.