Flood toll in India’s tourist hot spot Kerala surpasses 80; more rain due
NEW DELHI — With more deaths in the past 12 hours, the death toll in rain-related incidents since Aug 8 in India’s tourist hot spot of Kerala state crossed 80, with more than 50,000 people seeking shelter in relief camps, officials said on Thursday.
“Till Wednesday evening, the toll stood at 67. In the past 12 hours, at least 14 people have died in floods and landslides triggered by heavy monsoon rains. Seven were just killed in a massive landslide in Palakkad district this morning,” a disaster management official said.
Unconfirmed local media reports mentioned a much higher toll.
This is, in fact, turning out to be Kerala’s worst monsoon in almost a century. Apart from the casualties, more than 10,000 kilometers of roads and hundreds of homes destroyed or damaged across the state, prompting the state government to cancel celebrations for Onam, a major festival in southern India.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that he spoke to Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan this morning and assured him of all help to combat the flood situation.
The chief minister Wednesday said that “Kerala is going through a serious situation”.
Among the worst-hit districts are Idukki, Wayanad, Pallakad, Malappuram, Kochi and state capital Thirvananthapuram.
The Kochi airport, one of the busiest in southern India, has been shut down following flooding of the runaway.
“Kochi airport operations have been temporarily suspended till Aug 18 afternoon,” a spokesperson said on Wednesday.
The weather department has predicted more rains in the next three days and sounded a fresh alert. People living on river banks in the rain-hit districts have been asked to relocate, while fishermen urged not to venture into the Arabian Sea.
Dams opened
Officials said that several dams, particularly the Idukki dam, the biggest arch dam in Asia, have been opened to release excess water. All the shutters of the Idukki dam were opened last week for the first time after a gap of 26 years.
Apart from the National Disaster Relief Force, or NDRF, Indian Army, Navy and Air Force have been pressed into rescue work.
The state’s chief minister had last week announced compensation of 400,000 rupees ($5,600) to families of those killed in floods and rainslides who lost their loved ones, and up to 1 million rupees for those who have lost both their land as well as house.
This is the state’s worst monsoon rains since 1924. Last month, rain-related incidents in Kerala claimed 40 lives.
The US embassy last week advised its citizens to avoid Kerala, which drew more than a million foreign tourists last year, according to official data.