TIL Desk/National/Thiruvananthapuram/“Kerala is facing its worst flood in 100 years. 80 dams opened, 324 lives lost and 223139 people are in about 1500+ relief camps,” read a tweet from the Chief Minister’s Office. Nearly 2 lakh people have been displaced. The state, battling floods and landslides, plunged deeper into crisis on Friday, with hospitals facing shortage of oxygen and fuel stations running dry.
Till now, 42 Navy, 16 Army, 28 Coast Guard and 39 National Disaster Relief Force teams were engaged in rescue operations. Another 14 NDRF teams are expected to reach shortly. The military has pushed in more than 200 boats. Another four aircraft and three Coast Guard ships have also been brought in.
Personnel of the three services, besides the National Disaster Response Force resumed the gigantic task of evacuating people stranded on rooftops, highlands where hills came crashing down blocking roads and cutting them off the rest of the world, and those marooned in villages that have turned into islands. Hundreds of people, including women, children and the elderly trapped in places inaccessible by boats were winched up by defence helicopters and shifted to safety.
