Death toll rises to 324

• More than 30 copters, 320 boats are attempting rescues across Kerala
• 223,139 people have been moved to more than 1,500 relief camps

The century's worst rains and flood left 324 people dead in the last nine days with 106 being killed on a single day in southern Indian state of Kerala.

The state -- a key international tourist draw with its tropical mountains and beaches -- has been battered by record monsoon rainfall in recent days and is "facing the worst flood in 100 years", chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan said yesterday.

In a Twitter statement released by his office, he said there had been "324 lives lost", a tripling of the death toll in the last 24 hours.

Vijayan added that 223,139 people have been moved to more than 1,500 relief camps.

With thousands still trapped, power and communication lines down and fresh alerts of further torrential rain, authorities warned of even more trouble ahead.

More than 30 military helicopters and 320 boats are attempting rescues across Kerala.

Hundreds of people, including women, children and the elderly trapped in places inaccessible by boats were winched up by defence helicopters and shifted to safety.

TV channels telecast disturbing visuals of a woman in labour being pulled up with the help of a rope dropped down from a Navy chopper, swinging violently in the air. The woman, whose amniotic sac was ruptured, was shifted to a Navy hospital where she gave birth to a baby boy. Both the mother and the child are doing fine, officials said.

In a WhatsApp video, a stranded woman with her 6- year-old child was seen pleading for help. "We have no food or water. Please help us." 

People are airlifted by the Indian Navy soldiers during a rescue operation at a flooded area in the southern state. Photo: Reuters

Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan said the flood situation in the state continued to be "grave" with over 2.23 lakh people from more than 50,000 families sheltered in relief camps.

Though there was some let up in rains at a few places, four districts of Pathanamthitta, Alappuzha, Ernakulam and Thrissur remained in the throes of the monsoon fury.

Officials said many private hospitals in Ernakulam district are running out of oxygen, forcing the authorities to shift patients to nearby facilities. Many had to be evacuated after flood water entered hospitals.