Asian monsoon flooding

[waltky]

Monsoon season in Sri Lanka...

Nearly 500,000 displaced in Sri Lanka floods
May 27, 2017 -- More than 100 people died and nearly 500,000 displaced in Sri Lanka after flooding and mudslides triggered monsoons, the government said Saturday.

In addition, 113 people were reported missing, a government spokesman said. An Indian naval ship arrived in Colombo, the nation's capital, with relief supplies. And Sri Lanka's foreign ministry has asked the United Nations and other countries for assistance. The Sri Lanka Red Cross issued landslide alert Saturday, writing "people living on steep slopes and near dangerous cut-slopes should be watchful." It said rain had ceased but it's forecast to resume Monday.

Sri Lanka Red Cross volunteers assess flooding damage in Kalutara after flooding.​

Residents are being advised to move away from swollen rivers and hills susceptible to landslides. Military boats and helicopters were sent to help rescue survivors. "There is no danger to life now, it is a matter of providing food, water and looking into sanitation," Major General Sudantha Ranasinghe said to the BBC.

Nearly 500,000 people have displaced and at least 100 died in flooding in Sri Lanka, the government said.​

Worst affected were the southwestern district of Kalutara, where at least five mudslides had been reported there, police said. The town of Matara also was evacuated. Sri Lanka's Disaster Management Center issued evacuation notices to residents along the Kelani river, which flows through Colombo because its banks are about to burst. Last May, a massive landslide hit central Sri Lanka, killing more than 100.

Nearly 500,000 displaced in Sri Lanka floods

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Sri Lanka races to rescue flood victims as death toll rises to 160
May 29, 2017 -- The death toll in Sri Lanka increased to 160 after monsoon rains -- the worst in 14 years -- caused mass flooding and mudslides, the Red Cross said Monday.

The Southeast Asian country is racing to rescue flood victims as the bad weather and flooding entered its fourth day Monday. CNN reported more than 100 people were missing, with about 500,000 affected by the flood.

Government officials said Friday that monsoon rains caused mass flooding and mudslides across the country. Banakiyanage Gnanawathie, who lives in Matara, was among those forced to flee from their homes. "I have never seen such floods though I have spent my entire lifetime in Matara," she told CNN. "We have lost all our belongings and remain in the clothes we wore."

People walk in flood waters at Athwelthote in Baduraliya, outside Colombo, Sri Lanka, on Sunday following heavy monsoon rains.

Army boats were being used to evacuate people and bring relief supplies, while military aircraft were being dispatched to rescue stranded villagers, to Sky News reported. The flood cut off access to many rural parts of the country. Ships with relief supplies from India arrived in Colombo, the Sri Lankan capital, on Saturday. Sky News reported the United States and Pakistan also were expected to provide aid.

Sri Lanka races to rescue flood victims as death toll rises to 160​

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[waltky]

How high's the water, mama-san?...

Death and devastation: Over 60 rivers flood south China, dozens reported dead
Wednesday 5th July, 2017 - As torrential rain lashed parts of China, more than 60 rivers flooded the southern region, damaging crops and forcing hundreds of thousands of people to evacuate.

In the terrifying scene, the heavy rains saw rivers breaking their banks, inundating surrounding communities, filling up lower floors of houses and shops, leaving them completely submerged. China's Ministry of Civil Affairs said on Tuesday that at least 56 people have been killed and another 22 reported missing as heavy rains continue to pummel southern China, flooding towns, cutting off power and halting traffic. Fearing death and devastation, people escaped the heavy rains and floods after reports warned that the casualty count was set to rise.

The ministry added that as much as 19 inches of rain has been dumped on several cities, including in the scenic resort city of Guilin in the Guangxi region. Authorities said that over 11 million people in 11 southern provinces were affected by floods, landslides and hailstorms. The ministry said in its statement that water levels in major rivers and lakes in the southern province of Hunan have surged to alarming levels.

The rains also caused dozens of flight cancellations, leading to thousands of travellers stranded after several airports serving major cities in the region including Chengdu, Changsha, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen were cancelled or delayed. On Monday, the state media reported that Chengdu's airport was shut down for over an hour because of the torrential rain, forcing 13 incoming flights to land elsewhere.

Further, local reports specified that trains also were halted, and roads were cut off to many towns and villages in the region. According to an update released by the national meteorological center, more rain was forecast in southern China this week. As parts of central and south China were lashed by heavy rains and floods, the northern part of the country is wilted in a heat wave and drought-like conditions.

Death and devastation Over 60 rivers flood south China dozens reported dead

 

[waltky]

Worst flooding in 100 years...

India monsoon floods 'kill more than 300' in Kerala
17 Aug.`18 - At least 324 people have been killed in flooding in the southern Indian state of Kerala in what local officials say is the worst flooding in 100 years.

India's monsoon season started in June, but the death toll in Kerala has soared in the last 24 hours. Rescuers are battling torrential rains to save residents, with more than 200,000 people left homeless in camps. The state government said many of those who died were crushed under debris caused by landslides. With more rains predicted and a red alert in place, Kerala's main airport is expected to remain shut until 26 August. Hundreds of troops have been deployed to rescue those caught up in the flooding.

The Kerala chief minister has said the state has "never seen anything like this before"​

Helicopters have been airlifting people marooned by the flooding to safety, with photographs and footage emerging from the area showing elderly people and children being rescued. More than 300 boats are also involved in rescue attempts, AFP news agency reports. The government has urged people not to ignore evacuation orders, and is distributing food to tens of thousands who have fled to higher ground. The Indian home ministry says more than 930 people have now died across India since the country's monsoon season began.

How bad is the Kerala flooding?

The region's chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan has described the flooding as the worst the state has seen in a century. "We're witnessing something that has never happened before in the history of Kerala," he told reporters. Mr Vijayan said more than 223,000 people were now living in the more than 1,500 emergency relief camps set up in the area. Parts of Kerala's commercial capital, Cochin, are underwater, snaring up roads and leaving railways across the state impassable.

The state's airport is a hub for domestic and overseas tourists, so its closure is likely to cause major disruption. Some local plantations are reported to have been inundated by water, endangering the local rubber, tea, coffee and spice industries. Schools in all 14 districts of Kerala have been closed and some districts have banned tourists, citing safety concerns.


What is the government doing?

 

[waltky]

Monsoon Floods Have Killed More Than 320 People In Kerala, India...

Monsoon Floods Have Killed More Than 320 People In Kerala, India
August 17, 2018 - The official death toll from flooding in the Indian state of Kerala spiked to at least 324 people on Friday, and the office of Kerala's chief minister, Pinarayi Vijayan, said "the rains continue to remain strong."[/i]

More than 223,000 people are now being housed in some 1,500 relief camps, Vijayan's office says. Nearly the entire state in southern India is under a red alert. "Torrential rains have been battering Kerala for the past nine days, causing the worst floods to hit the coastal state in a century," Sushmita Pathak reports from Mumbai for NPR's Newscast unit. On Wednesday alone, "the state received rainfall eight times heavier than normal," Reuters reports. "We're witnessing something that has never happened before in the history of Kerala," Vijayan told reporters, according to The Guardian.

People move past a flooded road in the southern Indian state of Kerala, where monsoon rains have destroyed roads and left hundreds of thousands of people homeless.​

Monsoon rains have wrecked huge swaths of Kerala, known for its tropical beaches; wildlife; and tea, coffee and spice plantations. The Guardian reports that tens of thousands of homes and 6,000 miles of roads have been destroyed or badly damaged. Many of those killed were crushed by debris from landslides, according to the BBC. Earlier in the week, flash flooding swept away 11 people in central India, the CBC reported. Their fate remains unknown. NPR's Colin Dwyer reported that India's government is rushing to rescue those stranded in the floodwaters: "Authorities have opened nearly all of the dams in the state — a desperate gambit meant to ease the pressure the rainfall has exerted on their structures, but that has further flooded low-lying areas nearby and left residents stranded on the small pockets of dry land they can find."

Dwyer added, "Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who will be visiting the besieged region, also announced Thursday that he has asked India's defense ministry 'to further step up the rescue and relief operations across the state.' " India's government has deployed soldiers, helicopters and some 200 boats to assist in rescue efforts. The monsoon season is also hitting the region's economy. Reuters reports that the rain has impacted local crops, with rubber output likely to fall 13.5 percent from a year ago. The news agency adds that Amazon has had to halt deliveries in some parts of Kerala. Modi said he would travel to Kerala to take stock "of the unfortunate situation." Schools in all 14 districts of Kerala are closed, and the state's main airport will reportedly remain shut down until at least Aug. 26. The forecast calls for continued rains in the region for several days.

Monsoon Floods Have Killed More Than 320 People In Kerala, India

 

[longknife]

Some truly serious and tragic stuff that is getting absolutely no coverage here in our media. Nothing.

 

[waltky]

Monsoon floods leave 800,000 displaced, thousands stranded...

India's monsoon floods leave 800,000 displaced, thousands stranded
19 Aug.`18 - Relentless monsoon floods in the southern Indian state of Kerala have left around 800,000 people displaced and nearly 10,000 others stranded, according to reports.

The death toll has risen to more than 350 from the floods and landslides, Reuters reported, citing information from the chief minister of the southwestern state. The disaster represents the worst flooding in a century in Kerala, officials said. Some 4,000 relief camps across the state sheltered the hundreds of thousands displaced. Officials also pleaded for more help as the stranded people waited to be rescued by Monday. "Please ask (Indian Prime Minister Narendra) Modi to give us helicopters, give us helicopters. ... Please, please!" state legislator Saji Cherian said on a Kerala-based TV news channel, the Indian Express newspaper reported.

A truck carries people past a flooded road in Thrissur, in the southern Indian state of Kerala, Saturday, Aug. 18, 2018.​

Authorities said they were being inundated with calls for assistance, local media reported. "We are receiving multiple repetitive rescue requests," the office of the state's top official, Pinarayi Vijayan, said in a tweet. At least two trains carrying about 400,000 gallons of water were moving to the flooded areas from the neighboring states of Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra, Indian railway official Milind Deouskar said, according to the Press Trust of India news agency. Rainfall in some areas were well over double that of a typical monsoon season, officials said.

The disaster drew attention in the United States from U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, an Illinois Democrat. “I’m horrified to see the loss of life and broader destruction caused by the continuing floods in Kerala," the congressman said in a statement, according to the Indian Express. "With more than a quarter of a million people displaced and hundreds dead, the human cost of this continuing tragedy is nearly unimaginable," he continued, "and it is felt far beyond Kerala by countless families across the whole of India, here in the Chicago area, and throughout the world."

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People move past a flooded area in Thrissur, in the southern Indian state of Kerala, Friday, Aug. 17, 2018.​

The downpours that started Aug. 8 have triggered floods and landslides and caused homes and bridges to collapse across Kerala, a picturesque state known for its quiet tropical backwaters and beautiful beaches. Initial storm damage estimates were nearly $2.8 billion, Vijayan said. Prime Minister Modi inspected the flooded landscape from a helicopter and met Saturday with the state's top officials, promising more than $70 million in aid. At least 36 more people were missing, according to Kerala's disaster management office. Officials said some people have also died in relief camps, Reuters reported. “My thoughts and prayers are with the people of Kerala and their loved ones,” Krishnamoorthi said. Officials also estimated that more than 6,200 miles of roads have been damaged. More than 1,000 people have died in seven Indian states since the start of this year's monsoon season, including more than 300 in Kerala.

India's monsoon floods leave 800,000 displaced, thousands stranded

 

[waltky]

Kerala floods: Victims face snake menace as waters recede...

Kerala floods: Victims face snake menace as waters recede
24 August 2018 - Flood victims returning home in the Indian state of Kerala have been warned to prepare for a new menace: Snakes.

Several snake-catching teams have been deployed to affected areas, amid fears the reptiles could be hiding in cupboards, under carpets, or inside washing machines in previously submerged homes. Hospitals in the worst-hit areas are readying supplies of anti-venom. More than a million others were displaced, with many of them taking shelter in thousands of relief camps across the southern state. As well as the glut of snakes, scorpions and other insects are reported to have moved into human homes.

Floodwaters are receding in Kerala - but have left behind a glut of snakes​

On social media, footage emerged of a woman trying to stop a 10ft (3m)-long python from entering her garden by tapping a broomstick on the ground. Several hospitals in northern and central Kerala, where flooding was especially acute, have reported a spike in patients with snake bites. Local snake handler Vava Suresh told the Hindustan Times he had captured five cobras in Ernakulam district. "One was found inside the wardrobe on the second floor of a house... while another one was inside a shelf in a house," he said. Returning residents are being urged to sift through their belongings using a stick, the Press Trust of India reports.

Flood victims face snake menace in Kerala