India's Kerala state on high alert after floods kill 34

Rescue personnel patrol the flooded waters on the banks of Periyar River after the opening of Idamalayar and Cheruthoni dam shutters following heavy rains, on the outskirts of Kochi, August 10,2018. REUTERS/Sivaram V

KOCHI, India (Reuters) - More than half of the 14 districts in India's Kerala state have been put on high alert, officials said on Saturday, as the death toll from one of the worst floods in the southern state reached 34.

Torrential rains and landslides during India's June-September monsoon season have ravaged farmlands and prompted massive evacuation efforts in Kerala state.