India begins big clean-up

Kochi – Indian health authorities prepared defences against the spread of disease in flood-hit Kerala state yesterday as water receded and a huge clean-up gathered pace after the worst floods in a century killed more than 200 people.

Incessant rain since August 8 in the southern state has swelled rivers and triggered landslides. Dozens of people are missing and nearly a million are sheltering in thousands of relief camps, state officials said.

“The biggest challenges immediately ahead are cleaning of the flood-hit houses, rehabilitation, and prevention of water-borne diseases,” said Mahesh P, a village-level officer from Rayamangalam, about 45km from Kerala’s financial capital of Kochi.

Rainfall in the state during the June-September monsoon season has been more than 40% higher than normal, with torrential rain in the past 10 days forcing authorities to release water from dozens of dangerously full dams.

Anil Vasudevan, who handles disaster management at Kerala’s health department, said the state was preparing to battle any outbreak of diseases in the relief camps and preventive medicines were being distributed.

Mahesh said villagers had all pulled together to rescue people and prevent an even bigger disaster.