Flood of the century: Tens of thousands of people in India surrounded by water

India has sent thousands of soldiers and hundreds of helicopters to the state of Kerala in the south of the country. There are tens of thousands of people trapped in the midst of the worst flood in a hundred years, the news agency dpa even speaks of hundreds of thousands of residents who are cut off from the outside world. Within 24 hours, another 27 deaths were recorded, said a spokesman for the crisis team. The number of fatalities since the beginning of the floods increased to more than 350.

In many cities and villages, the water rose so high that two-storey buildings were flooded. From the air recorded television pictures and photos show people who have fled to roofs and waiting for rescue. 1300 emergency services, 30 military helicopters and around 400 boats were involved in the rescue work. In some places, rescuers borrowed boats from fishermen to search for victims.

Early Saturday morning there were heavy rains in the area again, hampering the rescue operations. Many flooded areas have not yet reached the helpers. In some places even boats can not get through, where people can only be evacuated with helicopters.

"No help in sight"

In the region, which is also popular with tourists, more than 40 rivers have overflowed and 80 dams have broken. Roads became rivers, bridges collapsed, in many places there are no telephone connections and no electricity, there is a danger of epidemics. It was difficult to get in touch with remote areas, the crisis team reported.

On Friday, relatives called us and said they had not had water or food for two days, and no help is in sight, "said S. Sudarshan, resident of Kerala's capital, Thiruvananthapuram, Prime Minister Pinarayi Vijayan called the tide a national disaster get ranked.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi promised to send emergency aid to Kerala. The prime minister met with the state government on Saturday and promised about 60 million euros in immediate payments. The state government, however, had demanded around 240 million euros. According to the government, the flood of the century has already caused damage of an estimated 2.4 billion euros.

More than 3.7 million people have been in rescue camps since the flood began, the government said. There are currently more than 300,000 people in more than 1,500 relief camps. On Friday alone, 82,000 people were brought to safety. Pictures showed old women holding bundles of their most precious possessions as they were brought to safety by boat.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi promised emergency aid amounting to 5 billion rupees (around 60 million euros). The state government, however, demands 20 billion rupees. The damage was estimated to have reached 195 billion rupees (2.4 billion euros).

The Hon'ble Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced an attendance of ₹ 500 crore. CM had requested an immediate assistance of ₹ 2000 crore. We express our thanks to Center for the assistance. @PMOIndia @narendramodi

The people of Kerala have been fighting since August 8th with extremely heavy monsoon rains. According to the forecast, the rains should decrease in the coming days. The main airport of the region in Kozhikode should remain closed for at least a week.

In addition to Kerala, other states such as Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh are affected by the flood of the century. Since the beginning of the monsoon season in June, more than a thousand people have died in India as a result of flooding.