India flood death toll jumps to 357

THRISSUR, India - Rescuers waded into submerged villages in southern India on Sunday in a desperate search for survivors cut off for days by floods that have already killed more than 350 people.

Entire villages in Kerala have been swept away in the state's worst floods in a century, and emergency responders fear the death toll will rise as they reach areas almost entirely underwater.

In Thrissur, one of the worst-hit districts, rescuers sifting through inundated houses have discovered the bodies of those unable to escape as the floodwaters quickly rose.

"They didn't think that it would rise this high - 10 to 15 feet at some places - when the initial warnings were issued," said Ashraf Ali K.M, who is leading the search in the small town of Mala.

"Some of them later gave distress calls when the water rose high and fast," he told AFP at the scene, where dead cattle and other livestock floated past.

Using boats and helicopters, India's military has led rescue efforts to reach people in communities cut off for days by the floods, with many trapped on roof tops and the upper floors of their homes, and in desperate need of food and potable water.

The death toll stands at 357, local officials said, with 33 killed in just the last 24 hours.

Among the dead was a mother and son in Mala, whose home collapsed around them late Saturday.

Another was a local man who volunteered for the search and rescue mission.

His body was retrieved by colleagues early on Sunday, said Dibin K.S, a Kerala firefighter, in a grim reminder of the perils facing rescuers.

Officials say many houses are irreparably damaged across the state, and have warned residents against trying to return to them.

Roads and 134 bridges have been damaged, isolating remote areas in the hilly districts of the state which are worst affected.

With power and communication lines down, thousands remained trapped in towns and villages cut off by the floods amid growing shortages of food and water.

Fears of disease

Although the rain finally let up on Sunday, giving some respite to thousands of marooned families, authorities feared an outbreak of disease among two million people crammed into relief camps.

More than 200,000 families have taken refuge at relief camps set up across the state, an official at the Kerala State Disaster Management office said. Kerala's chief minister had earlier said two million people had taken shelter in camps since the monsoon rains began three months ago.

Anil Vasudevan, who handles disaster management at the Kerala health department, said authorities had isolated three people with chickenpox in one of the relief camps in Aluva town, nearly 250 km from state capital Thiruvananthapuram.

He said the department was preparing to deal with a possible outbreak of waterborne and airborne diseases in the camps, where an estimated 2 million people have taken shelter since the monsoon rains began three months ago.

Afp - Reuters

(China Daily 08/20/2018 page11)