Appealing for donations from people across the country, Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan today said the road to recovery for the southern state is going to be a long one. “Your help no matter how small will be a step to restore normalcy,” the chief minister exhorted. The death toll has now gone up to 324 and over 2 lakh people have been shifted to more than 1500 relief camps in what is turning out to be the worst flooding in 100 years.
While the defence personnel have been pressed into service to rescue those who are stranded atop rooftops and restore road connectivity, thousands are still marooned at inaccessible places without any help or food.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to arrive in Kerala tonight after attending the funeral of former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. He is likely to undertake an aerial survey of the worst-hit areas on Saturday to take a stock of the situation.
During this year’s monsoon, various parts of Kerala have been affected by heavy rains, resulting in flood. A total of 13 districts which include Thrissur, Ernakulam, Idukki, Wayanad have been partly inundated. Those who’ve lost their homes have been shifted to relief camps.
Rescue operations are underway with coordination of Center, state government and local volunteers. NDRF teams, boats, choppers and other essential commodities are being rushed to the flood-hit areas. Helicopters are being used to drop essential commodities and airlift those who are in need.
The central government has also offered Naval runway at Kochi for civilians use. Kochi International Airport has been shut until August 26 after it got inundated due to incessant rains.
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