Indians trapped by what officials are describing as the worst flood in a century say relief camps are running out of food, clothing and basic medicines and that “psychological trauma is heightening.”
“We have lost almost everything,” Jessy Jaison, the director of research and quality enhancement with the New India Bible Seminary in India’s Kerala state, told CTV News Channel on Sunday. “That means buildings, people and livestock.”
Some 800,000 people have been displaced and more than 350 people have died as a result of floods and landslides that have caused bridges and homes to collapse across Kerala in South India.
“For the first time in the history of Kerala, 36 dams were open at the same time,” Jaison Thomas, the principal of the New India Bible Seminary, told CTV News Channel.
Rainfall – well over double that of a typical monsoon season in some areas – is expected to continue on Monday, exacerbating an already treacherous situation.
Power stations were flooded, leaving most of the area in the dark, and trapped residents can be reached only by boat or helicopter. One major airport was closed last week and officials estimate flooding damage has already exceeded US$3 billion.
Jaison, who has visited some of the 4,000 relief camps set up to house displaced residents, said critical supplies are running out.
“We have found people crying for medicine, particularly people suffering from epilepsy and diabetes,” she said.
Thomas said that more than 200 of his students have lost communication with their families.
“One of our students’ brothers was missing for two days as he was doing rescue work,” he recounted. “His whole family was totally isolated and stranded on the first floor (of their home).”
Their story was one of the few to have a happy ending: “Somehow, the Indian Navy was able to rescue them,” Thomas said.
With files from The Associated Press
