Kerala Floods: Around 500 killed, a million people moved to relief camps in devastating floods nearly a century…
According to the government, there hasn’t been a flood of this scale in last 100 years. The death toll currently stands over 500. More than a million people have been living in relief camps at the moment. The total loss is over 10 billion pounds. Ten out of 14 districts are badly affected. Around 39 dams in the state were opened due to water rise 24/7 still continued to open. More than 40,000 houses were totally ruined, about 6500 miles of public roads were also destroyed. People will have to bear the loss of this disaster for a long time. We need to continue the support at present and for the future as the after effect is unimaginable.
Torrential rains, overflowing rivers and a series of landslides have resulted in the rise of death toll in the state of Kerala, South India since August 9 as the state is reeling under one of the worst floods in the history. For the first time in history, the state has opened almost all of its 39 dams. Meanwhile, operations at the Cochin International Airport have been suspended till August 26 due to flooding in and around the airport. A red alert has been issued in almost all the state. Many of those who died were crushed under debris caused by landslides and around four hundred thousand people displaced. Tens of thousands of people are living in relief camps. More people are being evacuated from their homes as monsoon rains haven’t stopped and flood waters continue to run riot. The record shows that the scale of such rainfall years ago In 1924, or Malayalam Era 1099, rain fell for three weeks in the biggest flood the country had seen. The central govt has deployed all the forces such as Army, Navy & Air force to deal with the rescue operation. Helicopters airlifted stranded families from rooftops and dam gates were thrown open as incessant torrential monsoon rain continues..
The newly formed fraternity in Scotland known as United Scotland Malayali Association (USMA) has joined hands with British Malayali Charity Foundation to gather maximum support of U.K malayalees to donate to Chief Minister’s Fund. The worst affected areas are Chengannur in Alleppey district along with its lower Kuttanadu, Chalakkudi in Thrissur dist., Pathanamthitta, Ernakulam, Wyanadu, Kozhikodu, Kannur & Idukki districts wherein landslides and heavy flow of water in the rivers washed off the shores including people and houses. Simultaneously, western parts of the state including Ernakulam, Kottayam & Alleppey districts are heavily flooded due to the slop geographic terrain of the state towards the west. The state government and NGOs have opened temporary relief camps in areas where people lost their houses and have arranged temporary accommodation. The very famous Idukki hydro-electricity dam along a majority of water reservoirs had to open its flood gates to release the excess water as a precautionary and safety measure which caused water overflowing many rivers including the Periyar river submerging urban areas of Ernakulam district..
Please click on the following link if you would like to donate and please ensure you tick gift aid box consent column as every £ 1.00 you donate will be enhanced to another £ 0.25 by reclaiming the gift aid from HMRC, if you are a UK tax payer. You can also pay to charity’s bank a/c as per the details given in the home page.
Please visit www.britishmalayali.co.uk/news/charity for further details/news in malayalam.