INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Kerala is struggling to hold its head above water
The worst ever natural disaster in the state has claimed more than 350 lives, with several missing.
The flood fury has rendered lakhs of
people homeless, even as the army and national disaster management teams are struggling to move the flood victims to safer places
According to the state administration, more than 60,000 people have been rehabilitated, although thousands are still stranded in isolated
places.
According to state finance minister Thomas Isaac, the losses could crossRupee15,000 crore
Colossal damage has been done to public infrastructure and it will be a Herculean task to rebuild the state
Prime Minister Modi, who took an aerial survey of the affected areas, announced an assistance ofRupee500 crore along with an ex-gratia
questions.
Did the weatherman fail to alert the system about the impending disaster well in time Do we have enough systems in place to
Here are the key takeaways:
RANDEEP KUMAR RANA
DIG OPERATIONS, NDRF
There is no shortage of personnel as of now
As far as response for such eventualities is concerned, we always have one battalion in Tamil Nadu that looks after Kerala
We have deployed five teams to the state who are working day and night on a rotation basis
When disaster situation of such a magnitude is there, how much large the force maybe there is always a shortfall
NDRF were prepositioned in advance in consultation with the state government before the onset of this calamity
This is unprecedented devastation.
JIJI THOMSON
FORMER CHIEF SECRETARY, GOVERNMENT OF KERALAThis is extremely unprecedented
In the last 100 years we have never seen such huge floods
We were aware that the rains were pounding the state but we couldn't anticipate the magnitude of the problem
There was definitely something wrong in the forecast
Preparations were not to the extent required
Hopefully we can pray and wish that the rain Gods will relent.
HIMANSHU THAKKAR
COORDINATOR, SANDRP
Dams should not be filled up before the
Idukki dam was already filled in July
They released after another calamity
There was huge potential to reduce disaster impact if dams were not full
be attributed to a man-made disaster
You may have some unauthorised buildings or you may have some bad planning which is somewhat endemic to Indian cities but this is not a city
This is due to unprecedented rainfall
