800,000 PEOPLE HOMELESS & 357 DEAD AFTER INDIA HIT WITH ITS WORST FLOODING IN OVER A CENTURY

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Rescuers evacuate people from a flooded area to a safer place in Aluva, August 18, 2018. REUTERS/Sivaram V

Rescuers evacuate people from a flooded area to a safer place in Aluva, August 18, 2018. REUTERS/Sivaram V

Relentless monsoon floods in the southern Indian state of Kerala have left around 800,000 people displaced and nearly 10,000 others stranded, according to reports.

he death toll has risen to more than 357 from the floods and landslides, Reuters reported, citing information from the chief minister of the southwestern state. 

The disaster represents the worst flooding in a century in Kerala, officials said.

Some 4,000 relief camps across the state sheltered the hundreds of thousands displaced. 

Officials also pleaded for more help as the stranded people waited to be rescued by Monday. 

"Please ask (Indian Prime Minister Narendra) Modi to give us helicopters, give us helicopters. ... Please, please!" state legislator Saji Cherian said on a Kerala-based TV news channel, the Indian Express newspaper reported.

Authorities said they were being inundated with calls for assistance, local media reported.

The downpours that started Aug. 8 have triggered floods and landslides and caused homes and bridges to collapse across Kerala, a picturesque state known for its quiet tropical backwaters and beautiful beaches.

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Raja Krishnamoorthi, the Democratic lawmaker from Illinois, applauded the spirit of the people of Kerala, saying that even amid these darkest of days, they have continued to show their true colours in the courage and compassion

The southern state is facing its worst flood in 100 years with 80 dams opened and all rivers in spate. A body blow has been dealt to the scenic state, with its infrastructure, standing crops and tourism facilities severely hit.

“I’m horrified to see the loss of life and broader destruction caused by the continuing floods in Kerala. With more than a quarter of a million people displaced and hundreds dead, the human cost of this continuing tragedy is nearly unimaginable, and it is felt far beyond Kerala by countless families across the whole of India, here in the Chicago area, and throughout the world,” Raja Krishnamoorthi, the Democratic lawmaker from Illinois, said in a statement.

Krishnamoorthi applauded the spirit of the people of Kerala in the face of devastation and tragedy, saying that even amid these darkest of days, they have continued to show their true colours in the courage and compassion they have demonstrated through helping one another to safety, shelter, and survival.

“My thoughts and prayers are with the people of Kerala and their loved ones,” he said.

Initial storm damage estimates were nearly $2.8 billion, Vijayan said.

Prime Minister Modi inspected the flooded landscape from a helicopter and met Saturday with the state's top officials, promising more than $70 million in aid.

At least 36 more people were missing, according to Kerala's disaster management office.

Official said some people have also died in relief camps, Reuters reported. 

“My thoughts and prayers are with the people of Kerala and their loved ones,” Krishnamoorthi said.

Officials also estimated that more than 6,200 miles of roads have been damaged.

More than 1,000 people have died in seven Indian states since the start of this year's monsoon season, including more than 300 in Kerala.

 

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