Hundreds die as state braces for more rain
India’s southern state of Kerala is bracing for widespread showers through at least Monday even as it battles rising floodwaters and overflowing dams that have left hundreds dead and thousands homeless.
The Associated Press reported late Friday that more than 320 people have died.
Kerala, one of India’s top tourist destinations with miles of beaches and palm-fringed backwaters, has been promoted for decades as “God’s Own Country.” But it has seen unprecedented rain in the past few days that has forced authorities to open the floodgates of 33 dams.
A red alert has been sounded in all but one of the 14 districts of Kerala.
The India Meteorological Department has warned that heavy rains may affect these districts, according to a Twitter post by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Friday.
Widespread downpour is forecast until at least Monday in the region, which has had 37 percent more showers than normal this year, according to the meteorological department. That compares with rain that has been 8 percent below average for the country as a whole.
The armed forces have joined the federal and state disaster relief services to rescue people trapped in swirling waters and have moved to rooftops or higher ground.
The state is facing its second-worst flood after 1924, according to an update on the website of the Kerala chief minister’s distress relief fund.
As many as 23 bridges have collapsed, more than 211 landslides have been reported, and about 6,213 miles of roads have been destroyed. More than 20,000 houses have been damaged, 180,000 farmers are affected, and total damages are estimated at $1.2 billion, according to the website.
More than 1,500 relief camps are housing 223,000 people and providing food and drinking water, Tom Jose, chief secretary of the Kerala government, said by phone from the state capital, Thiruvananthapuram.
Helicopters manned by the Indian Air Force have been pressed into service to airlift people from the flooded areas. Rescue efforts have been difficult, he said.
While it’s not the peak tourist period in the state, the monsoon season does attract a lot of visitors. The international airport at Kochi has been shut until Aug. 26 after the runway and taxiway got submerged, according to Cochin International Airport.
Train services in several parts of the state have been suspended because of water overflowing tracks, landslides and flash floods, according to a Twitter post by Southern Railway.
“Tourism is completely out of gear,” Pronab Sarkar, president of Indian Association of Tour Operators, said by telephone.
The floods will have an adverse impact until the middle of September, Sarkar said.
Tourism accounts for about 10 percent of Kerala’s gross domestic product, with the state getting about 1 million foreign tourists last year and 14.7 million local visitors.