Kerala tragedy unfolds

​Thiruvananthapuram: At least 23 more deaths were reported across rain-devastated Kerala on Saturday taking the death toll to 357 with 15 bodies of the victims seen floating on flood waters even as rescue and relief operations continued across the state on a war-footing.

But with power supply and communication links snapped, shortage of food, potable water and medicines and scores of people awaiting evacuation from affected areas, the government has an uphill task ahead, even as around 50,000 people were rescued in different parts of the state, and red alert continued in 11 districts following prediction of more rains.

Prime minister Narendra Modi, who had reached the state on Friday night, announced an interim relief of Rs 500 crore for Kerala after holding a high-level meeting with Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and other officials on Saturday. He also announced ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh per person to the next kin of the deceased and Rs 50,000.
The state government however sought emergency relief of Rs 2,500 crore from the Centre, saying Kerala suffers losses of Rs 25,000 crore.

Chief minister Vijayan termed the situation as “really serious”. He said that although four lakh people have been shifted to as many as 1,568 relief camps, many are still stranded. Air, railway and road services remained disrupted in many areas for over five days, and marooned people flooded government and media offices with desperate phone calls. Fresh landslides were also reported from Wayanad and Kannur districts.

“We are trying our best to rescue marooned people. Saving lives is our main concern now. Rescue operations are being taken up on a war footing with choppers and boats,” Vijayan said, adding that over 15,000 people were evacuated in the last two days. He dispelled reports that a few dams in the state were in the danger of bursting.
After the meeting, the Prime Minister conducted an aerial survey of the flooded area, primarily covering Kochi and Idukki. Earlier he had to call off the survey as his chopper was called back minutes after it took off amid heavy rains in Kochi.

Torrential rains have battered God’s own country since August 8, leaving over 200 people dead in the last 10 days in landslides and floods in what is the worst natural disaster to hit the state in a century. Out of the total casualties, 150 are said to have lost their lives in the last two days.

The India Meteorological Department forecast on Saturday afternoon that widespread rains, with heavy rains at isolated places, is likely to continue over Kerala following low pressure area very likely to develop over northwest Bay of Bengal and neighbourhood during the next 24 hours. With roads cut off and public transport virtually non-existent, there are now fears of starvation. “If help won’t reach people will die of starvation,” said Chenganur MLA Saji Cherian.

Barring Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam and Kasargode, the remaining 11 districts of Kerala continued to be on red alert and can expect more rains.

The worst affected places include Aluva, Chalakudy, Chengannur, Alappuzha and Pathanamthitta, where massive rescue operations were on as scores of persons were rescued.

A massive relief and rescue operation involving the Army, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard, NDRF and volunteers continues to be underway. IAF rescue teams are also providing relief materials to stranded people.

However, despite their best efforts, marooned people complained that they had to survive without food or potable water for many days. “The magnitude of the disaster is really great. We are finding it difficult to manage such a volume of affected people,” a relief official said in Kochi on Friday.

More aid poured in from around India, with Maharashtra announcing Rs 20-cr relief, Gujarat Rs 10 crore, Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal declaring that all MLAs and MPs of his Aam Aadmi Party would donate a month’s salary, Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik announcing Rs 5 crore, and his Bihar and Haryana counterparts Nitish Kumar and Manohar Lal Khattar, Rs 10 crore each. Medicines worth Rs 1 crore were sent from Tamil Nadu.

The United Arab Emirates announced it will be forming a committee to help flood-hit areas of Kerala. Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday urged the Prime Minister to declare the Kerala floods a national disaster as the “lives, livelihood and future of millions of our people is at stake.”

Kerala is witnessing its worst floods since 1924, when 3,338 mm of rain poured, in which hundreds of people have died and over two lakh people have been left homeless. Families trapped in high rise flats, students stranded in hostels and devotees in churches used social media platforms to seek help and pass on information about their location using Google maps. Videos of people pleading for help with folded hands, are being posted and shared by hundreds of people on WhatsApp groups.