Deluged by rains, Kerala fights back
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The rains have deluged and ravaged our southern state of Kerala for the past few days. But the people are displaying extraordinary resilience and fighting back as the entire nation has jumped into the rescue and relief operations on a massive scale. Thousands of people stranded in isolated buildings and rooftops were rescued on Saturday while rains and fresh landslides were reported in some places as the toll touched 194 in the second spell of monsoon fury since August 8.
A large number of people, including senior citizens, women and children were airlifted from isolated buildings, while many others were evacuated in army boats, large fishing vessels and makeshift yachts, official sources said. Packed house boats and rafts moving through inundated roads could be seen in all the floodhit regions of the state.
However, people in worst-hit places like Pathanamthitta and Chengannur said that hundreds were yet to be evacuated. In many places, the local people were in the forefront of the evacuation along with defence and NDRF personnel. Lack of information about the isolated areas and houses, where a large number of people are believed to be stuck, is a worrying factor for rescuers, official sources said.
Over 54,000 people were rescued in Ernakulam district, mainly in Paravur and Aluva taluks which had witnessed heavy rains and severe water logging in the past two days. Over 600 students, who were stranded in a building at the campus of Sree Sankaracharya University at Kalady near Kochi, since the past two days, were rescued on Saturday,they said.