Kerala Floods: No Heavy Rains From Monday, 6.33 Lakh People In Relief Camps, Says NDMA

The NDMA on Sunday said there will be no heavy rains in the flood-hit Kerala for the next four days, giving a ray of hope to the distraught people of the state.

The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) also said more than 33,000 people have been rescued by different agencies from the flood affected areas of the state. Over 6.33 lakh people are currently staying in relief camps, it added.

"Rainfall will further decrease during the next five days. Heavy rain at one or two places in Idukki, Konnur and Kozhikode districts likely today. No heavy rain from tomorrow for the next four days," the NDMA said quoting a bulletin of the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

There is no red or amber colour code warning for any district of Kerala Sunday. A yellow warning has been issued in three districts.

The IMD has four colour codes to signify the intensity of weather. Red means authorities need to take action and one could expect extreme weather conditions, amber means government agencies need to be prepared to handle exigencies. Yellow colour code means situation needs to be watched, while green signals the weather would be normal.

The central government has also decided to give ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh each to the family of those killed in the floods and Rs 50,000 to the injured.

The compensation will be provided from the Prime Minister's Relief Fund.

A total 6,33,010 people are staying in 2,971 relief camps. As of now 33,179 people have been evacuated in rescue operations, the NDMA said.

So far 129 metric tonnes of rice and 30 MT milk powder (20 MT to Idukki and 10 MT to Wayanad) have been dispatched to Kerala, it said.

The Tamil Nadu Medical Services Corporation has dispatched necessary medicines to the affected areas, which is in addition to more than 150 truck loads of relief materials from the civil society and NGOs.

Altogether 100 tonnes of food materials like biscuits, rusks and drinking water are being airlifted to Kerala from Jalandhar and Patiala in Punjab.

At least 197 people have been killed in Kerala in the last 10 days in the second spell of monsoon fury since August 8 as floods and landslides triggered by incessant rain have wreaked havoc in many parts of the state.

Vatican, RSS Call For Support And Help

Pope Francis on Sunday called on the international community to provide "concrete support" to the victims in flood-battered Kerala.

Pope Francis prayed for the victims of the flooding at St Peter’s Square, the Vatican News reported.

"The inhabitants of Kerala have been harshly struck by intense rains, which have caused flooding and landslides, with heavy loss of human life, with many people missing and displaced, with extensive damage to crops and homes,” he said.

He voiced his hopes that “these brothers and sisters” would be supported by "our solidarity, and by concrete support from the international community".

He expressed his closeness to the Church in Kerala, “which is at the forefront of efforts to bring aid to the population.”Pope Francis than led the crowds gathered at St Peter’s Square in prayer for those suffering from “this great calamity.”

On the other hand, the RSS on Sunday urged the countrymen to extend all possible help to the flood-hit people of Kerala, saying the southern state was on the verge of a catastrophe.

Stating that Kerala was facing an unprecedented flood havoc that had killed hundreds of people and rendered thousands homeless, RSS joint general secretary Suresh Soni said, "The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh calls upon the people of Bharat to stand by Kerala in this period of crisis and extend all possible help to the victims."

With lakhs of people feared stranded across the state, Kerala was on the verge of a catastrophe, he added in a statement.

Despite constraints, the Army, the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), the Union and state governments were working on a war footing to rescue the stranded people and provide relief to them, Soni said, adding that the workers of the RSS, the volunteers of the Sangh-affiliate Sewa Bharati and many other organisations were also contributing to the rescue-and-relief operations.

States Pitch In To Help

 Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Sunday announced additional financial assistance of Rs Five crore and also ordered polythene sheets worth Rs 8 crore for flood-ravaged Kerala.

The financial assistance from the Chief Minister's Relief Fund (CMRF) is in addition to the Rs 5 crore sanctioned earlier, an official in the Chief Minister's Office said.

Patnaik has also ordered 500 MT of polythene sheets worth about Rs 8 crore to be sent to rain-battered Kerala.

Odisha Government had earlier on August 16 announced financial assistance of Rs 5 crore for disaster-hit Kerala.

The chief minister stated that people of Odisha stand by the flood affected people of Kerala at this hour of severe distress. He expressed deep condolences for the lives lost due to the devastating flood in the southern state.

"Odisha knows what a natural calamity of this magnitude means to the common man," Patnaik said.

Odisha Government had on Saturday sent a special team of fire service personnel armed with modern equipment to assist in rescue and relief operations in Kerala.

Trained and experienced in flood rescue, the team including 225 fire service personnel, 15 supervisors and other officers left for Kerala in a special aircraft of Indian Air Force (IAF) carrying 75 power boats and state-of-the-art equipment, said an official.

From the north, the Jammu and Kashmir government on Sunday also announced an assistance of Rs Two crore for supporting the flood relief efforts in Kerala.

J&K Governor N N Vohra has conveyed to Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan the "sorrow and sincere sympathy" of the people and the government of the state over the "tragic" loss of hundreds of lives and the enormous damage of the public and private properties in the worst flood crisis that Kerala is facing in the past several decades, a Raj Bhavan spokesman said.

He said the governor also conveyed to the chief minister the J&K government's decision to provide Rs Two crore help for supporting the flood relief efforts under way in Kerala.

Vohra and the members of his state administrative council have condoled the tragic death of people who lost their lives in the flood fury and conveyed their sympathy for the lakhs of families who have been rendered homeless in Kerala, the spokesman said.

He said the governor has also announced that suitable arrangements are being made urgently for the people of Jammu and Kashmir to contribute to the Kerala Flood Relief Fund

International Support

After the UAE, Qatar has come out in support of flood-hit Kerala by announcing a financial aid of Rs 34.89 crore to help provide shelter to those who lost their homes as a result of the humanitarian crisis, a media report said on Sunday.

The Qatar Charity, through its representative in India, has launched emergency relief for those affected by the huge floods with a total value of half a million riyals during the first stage, the Gulf Times reported.

Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani issued a directive to allocate USD 5 million (Rs 34.89 crore) in aid of those affected by the floods that recently hit the southern Indian state of Kerala, to help provide shelter to those who lost their homes as a result of the humanitarian crisis, the daily reported.

Qatar's aid comes a day after the UAE ordered the formation of an emergency committee to provide relief to the victims hit by devastating rains and floods in the state of Kerala. 

PTI