Rescuers in helicopters and boats fought through renewed torrential rain yesterday to reach stranded villages in Kerala as the death toll from the worst monsoon floods in a century rose to 358.


A villager looks at the overflowing Kannappanakundu river in Kozhikode district.

Dozens of military and coastguard helicopters took troops to high risk areas seeking people trapped on the roofs of submerged buildings.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi described the crisis as “devastating” after visiting Kerala.
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan announced late Friday that the monsoon death toll had dramatically risen to 324.
Media reports said at least another 14 bodies were found yesterday and state officials said they expected the number to rise as more landslides were reported and dam levels remained dangerously high.
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.
Helicopters have been dropping emergency food and water supplies across Kerala, while special trains carrying drinking water and rice have been sent to the state.
With rain alerts hanging over much of the state, dozens of dam and reservoir gates across the state have had to be opened as the waters reached danger levels, inundating many villages downstream.
Particular fears have been raised for Chengannur, about 120km north of Thiruvananthapuram, which has been cut off for four days.
Troops and military boats have been sent to the town and media reports said bodies had been found.
The state government did not immediately give an updated toll early yesterday.
Saji Cherian, who represents Chengannur in the Kerala Assembly, said he feared there were at least 50 dead in the town and broke down in tears as he pleaded for more help.
“Please give us a helicopter. I am begging you. Please help me, people in my place will die. Please help us. There is no other solution, people have to be airlifted,” he said.
“We did what we can with fishing boats we procured using our political clout. But we can’t do more.”
While around 50,000 people were rescued in districts like Ernakulam, Chengannur, Pathanamthitta and Thrissur, there are still many more waiting to be rescued.
Barring Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam and Kasargode, the remaining 11 districts of Kerala continued to be on red alert and can expect more rains.
The worst affected places include Aluva, Chalakudy, Chengannur, Alappuzha and Pathanamthitta, where massive rescue operations were underway.
With no end in sight to the rains, people all over the state of 33mn have made panic-stricken appeals on social media for help, saying they cannot make contact with rescue services.
Some say they are trapped inside temples and hospitals as well as submerged homes.
Authorities have warned that rains and strong winds are predicted for many parts of Kerala today and tomorrow.
Modi arrived in Kerala on Friday night and held meetings with state leaders and went on a brief air inspection tour yesterday.
“I took stock of the situation arising in the wake of the devastating floods across the state,” Modi said in a Twitter statement.
An immediate grant of Rs5bn ($75mn) was offered by Modi.
Other state governments promised nearly $20mn.
Vijayan said the situation is “very serious and grave”.
“The death toll would have been higher, but for the work we did. Things are under control,” said Vijayan, whose government was flayed by Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala for failing to take up rescue and relief work effectively.
Opposition Congress Party president Rahul Gandhi demanded though that Modi declare the flood crisis a “national disaster”.
Dozens of military helicopters stepped up rescue operations across the state and in one a heavily pregnant woman Sajita Jabeel, 25, gave birth just after her rescue, an Indian Navy spokesman said.
“It was a very critical case, the lady was in labour, her water had broken,” the pilot, Commandeer Vijay Verma told News18 television.
“We took a doctor along, we winched her up, it took some time though because we had to winch down two people to help her get on to the strop.”
Another pilot, Captain P Rajkumar, winched 26 people up from a rooftop after guiding the helicopter through trees and other houses.
A video of his Sea King pulling up the victims has been widely shared on social media.
He ended up with 32 people in his helicopter.
Rajkumar was given the Shaurya Chakra medal for bravery this week after lifting a fisherman from the sea when cyclone Ockhi hit India last year.


 





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