- Friday, April 19, 2024
By: Shubham Ghosh
AT least 25 people were killed in landslides and floods caused by heavy rain in the southern Indian state of Kerala, official sources on Sunday (17) said as rescue personnel looked for survivors in muddy debris and the armed forces flew in emergency materials.
Residents were isolated in parts of Kerala as the rain, which started getting heavier from late Friday (15), swelled rivers and left the roads inundated.
Eleven bodies were recovered from the state’s Idukki district while another 14 were found in Kottayam district, officials told AFP, after heavy landslides and flash floods hit the areas.
ALSO READ: Kerala floods: Death roll rises, Amit Shah assures help
Thousands of people were evacuated while at least 100 relief camps were set up, Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan said on Sunday. All three wings of the Indian Army were assisting with flood relief and rescue operations. Several people were still missing and the officials were yet in no position to give an estimate, AFP added.
Indian home minister Amit Shah promised all possible help to the people of the state who have been badly hit by the natural disaster.
People were found ruing the wanton destruction caused by the floods that left them without shelter. Many families lost their near ones. Video shared on social media showed buses and cars submerged in floodwaters.
Indian prime minister Narendra Modi condoled the deaths in a tweet in Malayalam and said authorities were working to help those who were hit by the deluge. In another tweet, he said he has spoken to Vijayan and prayed for safety of all.
കേരളത്തിൽ കനത്ത മഴയിലും ഉരുൾപൊട്ടലിലും ഏതാനും ജീവനുകൾ നഷ്ടമായത് ദുഖകരമാണ്. മരണമടഞ്ഞവരുടെ കുടുംബാംഗങ്ങളോട് അനുശോചനം അറിയിക്കുന്നു.
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) October 17, 2021
കേരളത്തിലെ കനത്ത മഴയുടെയും മണ്ണിടിച്ചിലിന്റെയും പശ്ചാത്തലത്തിൽ മുഖ്യമന്ത്രി ശ്രീ. പിണറായി വിജയനുമായി സംസാരിച്ച് സ്ഥിതിഗതികൾ ചർച്ച ചെയ്തു. പരിക്കേറ്റവരെയും ദുരിതബാധിതരെയും സഹായിക്കാൻ ഉദ്യോഗസ്ഥർ രംഗത്തുണ്ട്. എല്ലാവരുടെയും സുരക്ഷയ്ക്കും ക്ഷേമത്തിനും വേണ്ടി ഞാൻ പ്രാർത്ഥിക്കുന്നു.
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) October 17, 2021
The Indian Meteorological Department gave some relief saying the heavy rain, caused by a low-pressure area over the southeastern Arabian Sea and Kerala, was expected to ease on Monday (18).
There was little respite for northern India as some Himalayan states like Uttarakhand and Uttaranchal were expected to experience “heavy to very heavy rainfall” in the next two to three days, the weather department cautioned.
The deterioration in the weather in the northern parts would be caused as a result of a low-pressure area over Afghanistan and its surroundings interacting with strong winds from the Bay of Bengal area, the department said. The eastern Indian states of West Bengal, Jharkhand, Bihar and Odisha were witnessing rain.
In 2018, nearly 500 people were killed in Kerala when it was devastated by the worst floods in almost a century.
