KERALA FLOODS

-TANYA JAIN
(MBA FM- 1st Year)

Daryn Kagan once said, Bad things do happen in the world, like war, natural disasters,
and disease. But out of those situations always arise stories of ordinary people doing
extraordinary things. We cannot prevent a disaster but we can be prepared for it.
Flood has been considered as one of the most frequent disaster in the world. The
economic loss and life damage which is caused by floods has put more burdens on
economy than any other natural disaster.

Kerala, the land of god, species and natural beauty, is currently going through the
worst since a week long rainfall in 1924, which caused distressing damage in the state.
According to the chief minister of kerAla, Pinarayi Vijayan, this time the loss is very
high. The government data shows that around 39 people have lost their lives in rain
incidents since august 8. In total, 186 people have died this monsoon. According to the
latest tally, 80,000 people have been rescued so far. Over 1,500 relief camps have been
set up across the state and around 2,23,139 people are residing in these relief camps.
With these figures we can visualize the conditions of the people who are living through
this frightful disaster.

These floods have also affected the economic conditions of kerala. A report from
associated chambers of commerce and industry of india (Assocham) has said that the
floods in kerela could potentially have caused damage worth Rs. 20000 crore. According
to this report, this damage will be staggered over months. Not only this, it could also
impact tourism, cash crops, trade including the international trade from kochi and other
ports. Due to this, the GDP of kerala is in a state of total chaos.

As mentioned above, the path to recovery can be very long for kerala and therefore the
chief minister of kerala has urged everyone to contribute generously to the chief
minister’s distress relief fund. Narendra modi has announced a grant of Rs 500 crore,
the home minister, rajnath singh has also declared an amount of rs 100 crore. Congress
MPs and MLAs have also followed suit and have pledged to donate one month’s salary.

These were some of the initiatives that were taken by the government officials. While
NGOs, state governments are doing all they can to help the people in kerala we should
also come forward to help these people. Apart from helping them financially, we can
donate some essential items such as cooking utensils, basic houselhold furniture,
footwears, mugs, buckets, blankets etc.and we should ensure that these basic items
reach the people who are in need. At last I would only like to say that, Helping other
people can be a cure, Not just for those who are in need, But for your soul as well.