Kerala floods: death
toll rises to a minimum of 324 as rescue effort continues
Kerala, August 2018:
220,000 people left homeless and thousands still trapped in southern Indian
state after unusually heavy rain. Pressure intensified on Saturday to save
thousands still trapped by devastating floods that have killed over three
hundred in the Indian state of Kerala, triggering landslides and sending
torrents sweeping through villages in the region’s worst inundation crisis in a
century.
Authorities warned of
more torrential rain and strong winds over the weekend, as hundreds of troops
and local fishermen staged desperate rescue attempts in helicopters and boats
across the southern state. Kerala that is popular among international tourists
for its tropical hills and beaches has been battered by record monsoon rainfall
this year.
The state is “facing
the worst floods in one hundred years”, chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan said on
Twitter, adding that at least 324 lives have been lost so far. Roads are
damaged, mobile phone networks are down, an international airport has been
closed and more than 220,000 people have been left homeless after unusually
heavy rain in the past nine days. Casualty numbers are expected to increase
further, with thousands more people still stranded. Many have died from being
buried in hundreds of landslides set off by the flooding.
The Indian prime
minister, Narendra Modi, was on his way to Kerala last night “to take stock of
the flood situation in the state”, he said. Rescue workers and members of
India’s armed forces have been deployed across the state with fleets of ships
and aircraft brought in to save the thousands of people still stranded, many
sheltering on their roofs signaling to helicopters for help.