10 numbers tell the story of the catastrophic Kerala floods
Kerala, August 17: As India celebrated its 71st Independence Day on Aug. 15, the southern coastal state of Kerala was being ravaged by the worst floods in nearly 100 years.
Here are 10 numbers that show the intensity of the devastation in the state:
915% more rainfall
…than usual received by Kerala on Independence Day. Over the past seven days, the state has received 257% excess rainfall.
14 districts
…which is the entire state, are on red alert. All of Kerala’s 44 rivers are overflowing.
A drowning man being rescued on the outskirts of Kochi, Kerala, on Aug. 16, 2018.
256 dead
…since the rains began in May. This includes over 20 lives lost on Aug. 15 alone. The search for missing people is currently on.
1,65,000 people
…have been shifted to 1,155 relief camps. Five days ago, Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan said that the floods have destroyed 20,000 houses, a number which has been growing since then. Makeshift relief camps are also cropping up while victims await food, water, medicines, and electricity to charge their phones.
10,000 kilometres
…of roads are damaged, Vijayan has said. The sluice gates of 35 out of Kerala’s 39 dams have been opened. The state electricity board switched off 4,000 transformers to prevent electrocution.
The Athirampally falls in Thrissur district on Aug. 13. The region is on a high alert with schools and offices being closed due to the rising water levels of River Periyar after the gates of the Idukki reservoir were opened.
$1.19 billion
…or Rs 8,316 crore was the preliminary estimate of the state’s loss as on Aug. 12. The state is spending an additional Rs3,000 crore ($428 million) on immediate relief measures. Kerala sought Rs1,220 crore from Narendra Modi’s central government as immediate relief, but for now has been allotted only Rs100 crore ($14 million).
211 landslides
…were reported from across the state till last week.
30 teams
…from the National Disaster Relief Force, 24 from the Indian Navy, 13 columns of the Indian Army, and 10 teams of the Indian Coast Guardare engaged in search and rescue operations, along with other emergency responders. The Indian Air Force has airlifted 340 individuals, many of them from rooftops of flooded buildings.
Rescue workers evacuate people on the outskirts of Kochi on Aug. 16, 2018.
20 aircraft
…and over 50 boats have till now been deployed by the defence ministry for relief work.
82 tourists
…were stranded inside a bus in Munnar district in central Kerala. Hundreds of students are stranded at the Sree Sankarcharya University of Sanskrit in Ernakulam district.
Courtesy: qz.com
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Software engineer dies after car plunges into water-filled pit in Greater Noida
Noida (PTI): A 27-year-old software engineer died after his car went out of control and fell into a 20-feet-deep water-filled pit that was dug for the basement of an under-construction building in Sector 150 of Greater Noida, police said on Sunday.
The incident occurred in the early hours of Saturday, following which a search operation was launched. The body was recovered later in the morning with the help of teams from the fire department, State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and the local police.
Police at the Knowledge Park police station said they received information at around 12.15 am that a car had plunged into a pit near Sector 150.
The deceased was identified as Yuvraj Mehta, a resident of Tata Eureka Park society in Sector 150. He was working as a software engineer with a reputed company in Gurugram and was returning home from work at the time of the incident, police said.
"The search operation was carried out with the help of the NDRF, SDRF, fire department and local police. The body was recovered at around 4 am on Saturday," Additional Commissioner of Police (Greater Noida) Hemant Upadhyay told PTI.
He said preliminary investigation suggested that fog and overspeeding may have led to the accident, following which the car crossed a drain and fell into the pit.
The body has been sent for post-mortem examination and further investigation is underway, police said.
Local residents staged a protest against the Noida Authority, alleging negligence. They claimed that similar accidents had occurred in the past and that authorities had been repeatedly informed about the need for proper barricading and reflectors near the drain.
"Residents had requested the Noida Authority to install barricades and reflectors, but no action was taken," a protester alleged.
