Pinarayi Vijayan: Over 7 lakh displaced, death toll reaches 210 in Kerala Floods

Chief minister says most of those marooned have been rescued, focus now on their rehabilitation

The deadly monsoon rains that savaged Kerala claimed 13 more lives on Sunday, taking the toll to 210 in the last 10 days as Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said most of the marooned had been rescued and the focus would now be on their rehabilitation. In a big relief, there was respite from the rains in most parts of the state after nearly two weeks of virtually non-stop downpour and the red alert has been lifted in several districts.

The deadliest deluge in close to a century has claimed 210 lives since August 8 and nearly 400 since May 29 when the south west monsoon set in over Kerala. More than 80 dams were opened, leading to floods while the rains also triggered landslides. High-range Idukki district, Malappuram and Thrissur are among the worst hit. A total of 724,649 people are sheltering in 5,645 camps following "one of the worst ever floods" in Kerala that has claimed some 370 lives and caused widespread destruction, Vijayan said on Sunday.

"Our prime concern was to save lives. It appears it has been met," Vijayan told the media amid signs that the most destructive phase of the floods had ended and that water overflowing numerous towns and villages had finally begun to recede. "The tragedy is perhaps one of the worst ever. Hence the loss caused is so huge. So we will accept all help," the Chief Minister said, revealing the extent of a tragedy which has not hit the state since 1924. He was all praise for the efforts put in by personnel of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard, NDRF, fishermen and local people in rescuing people.

Ops stepped up in Kodagu
More than 3,500 people have been rescued in Karnataka's Kodagu district till today, where six people have lost their lives due to floods and landslides. According to officials, as many as 317 people were rescued and shifted to safer places in the district yesterday, and rescue operations were on around Makkandor and other areas of the district today. President Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke over phone to Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy, who is camping in the rain-battered district, over phone and enquired about the situation.

Goa may go the Kerala way
Noted ecologist Madhav Gadgil has warned Goa may face the same fate as the flood-battered Kerala if it does not take precautions on the environmental front. Like in some other states, Goa, too, is witnessing activities which are driven by greed for unlimited profits, said Gadgil, who headed a committee that authored a widely debated study on the Western Ghats a few years ago. "Certainly all sorts of problems are beginning to surface on the environmental front in the Western Ghats. Goa, of course, does not have Western Ghats which are so high as in Kerala, but I am sure Goa will also experience all sorts of problems," he said, reacting to the worst-ever floods in the southern state.

7,24,649
Number of people in relief camps in Kerala

400
People who have died since May in Kerala

3,500
Number of people rescued in Kodagu

'God came wearing uniforms to save us'
A rescued flood victim on Sunday lauded the efforts of the NCC Kottayam unit tweeting, "All the temples, mosques and churches here are drowned in water, but God came wearing uniforms to save us". By now, the NCC Kottayam unit has rescued more than 100 people besides providing relief to around 3,000 people in Pathanamthitta, Thiruvalla, Muvattupuzha, Idukki and Kottayam, in conjunction with the concerned civil authorities.

Pope seeks support for Kerala
Pope Francis on Sunday called on the international community to provide "concrete support" to the victims in flood-battered Kerala. He prayed for the victims of the flooding at St Peter's Square, the Vatican News reported.

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