People cross a flooded area through makeshift bamboo bridge in Wayanad of Kerala, India, Aug. 11, 2019. (Str/Xinhua)
The death toll in India's flood-hit western coastal states has crossed the 200-mark, and relief efforts are underway.
by Pankaj Yadav
NEW DELHI, Aug. 14 (Xinhua) -- The death toll in India's flood-hit western coastal states has crossed the 200-mark, out of which almost 100 deaths were reported from the southern state of Kerala alone over the past few days.
Around 60 others have gone missing in the state due to flash floods. Other flood-affected states are Karnataka, Maharashtra and Gujarat.
Local media reports claim the death toll in all states put together has reached around 225.
According to official figures available to Xinhua, as many as 95 people have died so far in Kerala, with 35 reported from Malappuram district, followed by 17 deaths in Kozhikode, 12 in Wayanad, nine in Kannur, eight deaths in Thrissur.
Five people lost their lives due to floods in Idukki district, four in Alapuzha, two each in Kasargod and Kottayam, and one in Palakkad.
More than 58,000 families have been displaced by the devastating floods, and around 190,000 people have been rehabilitated in as many as 1,118 relief camps set up for the flood-affected victims in the state.
More than 11,000 houses have been partially damaged and around 1,050 houses completely ruined by the ravaging floods, added the official data provided by the Kerala State Disaster Management Authority (KSDMA).
Kerala's Principal Secretary of the Disaster Management department Venu V. is continuously monitoring the emerging flood situation in the state through the Control Room set up in state capital Thiruvananthapuram. He is directing his officials for the much-needed rescue and relief work in the flood-affected areas and distributing flood-relief materials.
Vehicles move through a flooded road in Mandya district, Karnataka state, India, Aug. 11, 2019. (Photo by Kashif Masood/Xinhua)
An official at the KSDMA told Xinhua over phone that "extremely heavy rainfall," i.e. more than 204.4 mm, is forecasted during the next 24 hours in the districts of Malappuram, Kozhikode, and Kannur, even as "very heavy" rainfall, i.e. 115.6-204.4 mm, is forecasted in as many as 12 districts of the state.
Sensing more trouble, the state government has issued a red alert and cautioned people to stay away from overflowing rivers and tributaries.
The situation in southern state of Karnataka remains equally grim, where as many as 54 people have died so far, even as around 15 have gone missing. On Tuesday, Indian Air Force (IAF) personnel were rushed to airlift around 365 stranded tourists, including 100 foreigners, from a guest house near the Virupapura Gadde (island) temple at the Hampi heritage site.
In southwestern state of Maharashtra, the death toll due to floods has reached to 36. The worst affected districts of Sangali and Kolhapur are now said to be gradually limping back to normalcy.
In western state of Gujarat, around 25 people have lost their lives so far in the ravaging floods.
