Devastating Monsoon Floods Hits in Kerala

Devastating Monsoon Floods hits in Kerala, India from late July, and the death toll reaches near about 400.
Over one million people are now sheltered in 4000 relief camps in India’s southern state, Kerala, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said, even as rains that killed near about 400 people have finally abated.
The death toll due to the devastating rains and floods in Kerala increased day by day, as 13 more deaths were reported yesterday with rescue operations continuing in the worst affected districts of Alappuzha, Ernakulam and Thrissur.
Orange alert has been issued for 10 districts, yellow alert for 2 districts. However, no heavy rains are expected for the next five days. 

Rains in the catchment areas of the big dams in Idukki district have also subsided with the authorities shutting two of the five floodgates at the Idukki dam. The outflow of water from both the Mullaperiyar and Idukki dams have also reduced.
As per a preliminary estimate, there was Rs 4,441 crore loss to the government following the damage to roads and bridges. At least 220 bridges have been damaged and 59 were still under water.

More than 33,000 people have been rescued by different agencies. Over 7.24 lakh people are staying in the 5,645 relief camps.
Kochi international airport to remain shut till 29 August. Commercial flight operations from Kochi would resume tomorrow from the Naval airport to Coimbatore and Bengaluru.

 Civil Aviation Minister Suresh Prabhu said the watch hour at Vijayawada and Begumpet airports has been extended to facilitate relief operations by IAF aircraft. Watch hour refers the period during which the airport remains open for operation.
More than 38,000 people rescued and evacuated from the flood-affected areas in Kerala. Medical aid has been provided to over 23,000 people. 3,00,000 food packets have been supplied by the Food Processing Ministry: the spokesman of Indian Government said to the Media.
Govt has decided to pay Rs 3,000 per day each to the fishermen who participated in the rescue operations.
Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan held a review meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Kochi. Central has sanctioned Rs 600 crore for the state.
India will not accept the generous help that has been offered by foreign governments after the floods in Kerala.
The UAE, Qatar and Maldives have all pledged assistance to India for relief, rehabilitation and reconstruction in the state. 

But high-level sources said that while India was extremely grateful for the offers, its own resources would be used to rebuild Kerala.
India will say “thank you” but “no thank you” as internal resources are mobilized. This does not, however, extend to private contributions pouring in from all over the world, given the huge diaspora from Kerala.
“We asked for Rs. 2000 crore, they (central govt) could give us only Rs. 600 crore, I don’t know why they should deny some other foreign government’s help”: Kerala Finance Minister Thomas Issac had said to the Journalists.
Indian commandos have slid from hovering helicopters on whisper-thin ropes to save the tiniest babies. In one rescue, a young soldier cradled an infant to his chest while being slowly winched up from the floodwaters. The pair dangle precariously in the air, swinging back and forth, as the pilot somehow keeps the chopper hovering perfectly still, flattening the leaves of palm trees below.
After getting a breather from rains after a week-long battering, rescue efforts were stepped up in Kerala as Army, Navy, Air Force, the Coast Guard, and disaster management agencies such as the NDRF rescued 43,000 people, as per official figures. The Ministry of Home Affairs has declared Kerala floods of ‘severe nature’, and the Centre exempted basic customs duty and IGST on goods supplied for Kerala relief operations.
> Pratyusha Mukherjee