Thiruvananthapuram, Aug 21(Zee News): Massive rescue operations are being undertaken across flood-hit Kerala with the death toll mounting to 223 since August 8. Several photographs and videos of the rescue operations have been widely shared on social media and some of them are even going viral.

Even as the state got respite from the rain, fears rose over disease in rescue camps. In one of the videos of the rescue operation, a man is seen lending his back as a stair to help women to get into a boat.

Since its release, the video has been doing its rounds on social media platforms and the netizens can't keep calm but hail his generosity. In the video, shared by a Twitterati, the Kerala man is seen bending down and lending his back while his face lies right above the water level.

The deadly monsoon rains savaged Kerala with heavy rains and severe floods. "Over 10.78 lakh displaced people, including 2.12 lakh women and one lakh children below 12 years of age, have been sheltered in 3,200 relief camps. Today, 602 persons were rescued from various places as the rains receded," Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said on Monday.

The Centre, meanwhile, declared Kerala flood as a severe calamity. The Chief Minister, however, said that there have been demands from various quarters to declare the floods as a national calamity.

An all-party meeting will be held here on Tuesday to take stock of the flood situation. The government will on August 29 honour fishermen who participated in the rescue operations, he said.

With flood water level receding in many places, people have started returning to their homes and begun cleaning operations. The state government has also decided to distribute cleaning kits to them, Vijayan added.

He further said that as many as 1,500 army personnel were engaged in rescue operations and people stranded on rooftops and inaccessible areas were being winched with the help of defence helicopters.