People plucked from rooftops as flooding in India kills 324

Rescuers NEW used helicopters and boats Friday to evacuate thousands of people stranded on their rooftops after unprecedented flooding in the southern Indian state of Kerala that killed more than 320, officials said.

“Kerala state is facing its worst flood in 100 years,” the state’s top elected official, Pinarayi Vijayan, tweeted.

With heavy rains stopping after a week, rescuers moved quickly to take those marooned by floods to 1,500 state-run camps. They used more than a dozen helicopters and about 400 boats across the state, relief officials said.

Vijayan told reporters that at least 324 people had died and more than 220,000 had taken refuge in the camps.

Heavy rains over the past eight days triggered flooding, landslides and home and bridge collapses, severely disrupting air and train services in Kerala state, a popular tourist destination that has scenic landscapes, waterfalls and beautiful beaches.

The New Delhi Television news channel reported that the state was facing a new crisis with some hospitals facing shortages of oxygen and gas stations running short of fuel.

Monsoon rains kill hundreds of people every year in India. The season runs from June to September.

The monsoon flooding has severely hit 12 of Kerala’s 14 districts, with thousands of homes damaged since June. Crops on 80,300 acres also have been damaged, the Home Ministry said.

The international airport at Kochi, a major port city, suspended flight operations until Saturday after the runway was flooded. Authorities also asked tourists to stay away from the popular hill station of Munnar in the Idukki district because of flooding.

More than 1,000 people have lost their lives in seven states since the start of the monsoon season in June. A total of 407 people have died in Kerala, 190 in Uttar Pradesh, 183 in West Bengal, 139 in Maharashtra, 52 in Gujarat, 45 in Assam and 11 in Nagaland state, officials and the Press Trust of India news agency reported.