Kerala, which was ravaged by floods in August, is ready to welcome tourists from October, a senior official from the southern state said Saturday. The Kerala Disaster Management Control Room Tuesday had stated that, since May 29, a total of 491 people had died there due to the rains, the maximum number of deaths occurring after August 8.

The tourism sector, the fastest-growing industry in the state, has incurred a loss of Rs 2,100 crore during the devastating floods. Tourism director P. Bala-Kiran on Monday said the preliminary estimate of the industry in terms of infrastructure and business loss is around Rs 2,000 crore. Apart from this, the state government-owned tourism properties have incurred an estimated loss of around Rs 80-100 crore.

Flood-ravaged Kerala may have to wait a few months to get the complete financial aid package from the Centre as the process of assessing the extent of damage and fund release is time-consuming. After the initial release of funds, the central government follows certain rules and guidelines before awarding the final aid to any state for a natural calamity, a home ministry official said.