Flood rescue slow in coming
Thousands of stranded people were waiting to be rescued yesterday and officials pleaded for more help as relentless monsoon floods battered the southern Indian state of Kerala, where more than 190 have died in a little over a week and much of the state is partially submerged.
Heavy rains hit parts of the state again on Saturday morning, slowing attempts to deploy rescuers and get relief supplies to isolated areas. Many have seen no help for days and can only be reached by boat or helicopter.
More than 300,000 people have taken shelter in over 1500 staterun relief camps, officials said. But authorities said they were being inundated with calls for assistance, local media reported.
‘‘We are receiving multiple repetitive rescue requests,’’ the office of the state’s top official, Pinarayi Vijayan, said in a tweet, asking those in need to provide their exact location and nearby landmarks so rescuers can find them.
Officials have called it the worst flooding in Kerala in a century, with rainfall in some areas well over double that of a typical monsoon season.
The downpours that started on August 8 have triggered floods and landslides and caused homes and bridges to collapse across Kerala, a picturesque state known for its quiet tropical backwaters and beautiful beaches.
Officials estimate more than 10,000km of roads have been damaged. One of the state’s major airports, in the city of Kochi, has been closed.
Meteorologists expect the rains to ease up over the next few days.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi met on Saturday with the state’s top officials, promising more than US$70 million in aid. While the central government has dispatched multiple military units to Kerala, state officials are pleading for additional help.
‘‘Please ask Modi to give us helicopters, give us helicopters . ... Please, please!’’ state legislator Saji Cherian said on a Keralabased TV news channel, the Indian Express newspaper reported. Modi said 38 helicopters had been deployed for search and rescue operations in the state, which has a population of more than 33 million.