Kochi: Incessant rain since Aug. 8 in the southern state of India (Kerala) has swelled rivers and triggered landslides. Dozens of people are missing and nearly a million are sheltering in thousands of relief camps, state officials said. 10,28,000 people have been lodged in 3,274 relief camps opened by local bodies in flood-affected areas. The biggest challenges immediately ahead are cleaning of the flood-hit houses, rehabilitation, and prevention of water-borne diseases.
People will have to remain in camps for a little while more. Before sending them back, their homes and surroundings will have to be put in order. The homes will not be in their old condition. Power and water connections will have to be restored. The polluted water in the area, in wells and tanks and nearby water sources, will have to be purified. The insides of the houses will be full of slush. If hygiene is not established, there is the chance of an epidemic outbreak.
Rainfall in the state during the June-September monsoon season has been more than 40 percent higher than normal, with torrential rain in the last 10 days forcing authorities to release water from dozens of dangerously full dams, sending surges into rivers that then overflowed their banks.
The Union government on Monday declared the devastating floods in Kerala a “calamity of severe nature”, paving the way for higher Central monetary help, as the state braced for the gigantic task of reconstruction and rehabilitation of lakhs of people rendered homeless. The death toll in the current spell of monsoon fury that began on August 8 has risen to 223, officials said. “Keeping in view the intensity and magnitude of the floods and landslides in Kerala, this is a calamity of a severe nature for all practical purposes,” a home ministry official said in New Delhi. This categorisation will enable the state get greater monetary and other assistance from the Centre.
As per preliminary estimates, the state has so far suffered a loss of nearly Rs 20,000 crore. A more realistic assessment of the damage after the flood waters fully recede and a truer picture emerges will raise it considerably further. The Union government has so far rendered all help to the state. Kerala received Rs 210 crore towards the Chief Minister’s Distress Relief Fund and a promise of Rs 160 crore.
The chief minister said funds should be sent to the Chief Minister’s Distress Relief Fund and nowhere else. The Govt. of Kerala, Kerala State IT Mission and IEEE Kerala Section had opened the website https://keralarescue.in/ for effective collaboration and communications between authorities, volunteers and public. You can contribute to Chief Minister’s Fund through the
Account number : 67319948232,
Name on Account: Chief Minister’s Distress Relief Fund,
Account Type: Savings,
Bank: SBI, Branch: City Branch, TVM,
IFS Code: SBIN0070028,
SWIFT Code: SBININBBT08
The Army, Navy, and NDRF teams continued their rescue efforts. Lt. Gen. D R Soni, the chief of the Army’s Southern Command, told reporters in Thiruvananthapuram that rescue operations were still continuing and drones being used to help reach to people trapped in areas not easily accessible.
Fishermen in Kerala proved that they have no peers in daring mission in perilous waters as they joined the state’s efforts to rescue thousands stranded in flooded areas. Operating in their mechanised country boats in furious waters in places like Chengannur, Kuttanad, Chalakudy, Mala, Kodungallur, Aluva, North Paravur etc, they rescued thousands from houses and buildings where helicopters couldn’t access. Their country boats could cut even through dangerous gush of water, which the rubber boats found it difficult to overcome. Their courage and the experience of life in the waters helped the task. The entry of fishermen had brought dramatic speed to rescue efforts in Chengannur, Kuttanad and Upper Kuttanad. They were also in the forefront of efforts to provide water and food to relief camps.