Kerala Flood 2019 Angamaly, Kerala, India IMG 20190812 130830

On 8 August 2019, due to heavy rainfall in the

monsoon A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annual latitudinal oscil ...

season, severe

flood A flood is an overflow of water ( or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are an area of study of the discipline hydrol ...

affected

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

. As a security measure in the prevailing situation of heavy rains, the

India Meteorological Department The India Meteorological Department (IMD) is an agency of the Ministry of Earth Sciences of the Government of India. It is the principal agency responsible for meteorological observations, weather forecasting and seismology. IMD is headquarter ...

had issued a red alert in the 9 districts in Northern and Central Kerala, orange alert in 3 districts of Central Kerala, and yellow alert in the 2 districts of southern Kerala. Thousands of people have been evacuated to safer places and relief camps. A total of 121 people have died due to rain-related incidents as of 19 August 2019. Another deluge had hit the state in August 2018, in which over 470 people died and properties worth US$5.8 billion (₹40000 crore) were damaged.every year in Kerala floods have been caused.

Causes of floods

The extreme rains were triggered by a depression toss the Arabian sea resulting in intense convection over Kerala. Every year parts of South Asia are hit by a period of heavy rains known monsoons which usually fall between June and September. It is caused by a change of wind patterns over the region. This change causes heavy rains in the summer and long dry spells over the other months. In India, the monsoon rains can provide 70% of the country's rainfall for the year. The rain fall so quickly and heavily that it can cause sudden flooding. The rationale for the anomalous rainfall in 2018 might have recurred the extreme events in 2019; i.e., the High-Frequency Mixed Rossby-Gravity Waves in the Mid-Troposphere which were triggered by the synoptic disturbances of the tropical Pacific. These high-frequency waves manifested as cyclonic and anticyclonic circulations and dilated the wind field to establish zones of convection in the tropics, as they propagated across the Indian Ocean basin. Although the Madden-Julian Oscillation phase with 20–40 days period has favored convection in the tropics, the high-frequency mode correlates better with the anomalous precipitation during the intervals of extreme events. Unrestricted mining operations in places have contributed to environmental degradation. Scientists who have conducted research on the disaster-prone areas have warned that soil-piping is a major cause for the landslides witnessed in these places and the high ranges of Kerala will likely be worst hit if this continues. Also known as 'tunnel erosion', soil piping is the subsurface erosion of soil caused by percolating waters to produce pipe-like conduits below the ground, especially in non-lithified earth materials.

Impact

As of 19 August 2019, 121 people have been killed due to the floods across the state of Kerala. Over 2 lakh people have been directly affected by the flood, and have been shifted to 1318 relief camps in different parts of Kerala. Airport authorities suspended operations of the flood-affected

Cochin International Airport Cochin International Airport is an International airport serving the city of Kochi, in the state of Kerala, India. Located at Nedumbassery, about northeast of the city centre, Cochin International Airport is first of its kind which is develo ...

till 15:00 (IST) on 11 August 2019. The data from the Kerala State Disaster Management states that, as many as 1,789 houses had been damaged fully in between 8 and 19 August, while the number of partially damaged houses is 14,542. There have been 80 landslides in the span of 2 days, as said by the Chief Minister. Many people were buried alive and could not be found. The situation was critical as the calamities interfered with the rescue operations. Districts that have been severely affected include

Wayanad Wayanad () is a district in the north-east of Indian state Kerala with administrative headquarters at the municipality of Kalpetta. It is the only plateau in Kerala. The Wayanad Plateau forms a continuation of the Mysore Plateau, the southern ...

Malappuram Malappuram (also Malapuram) () is a city in the Indian state of Kerala, spread over an area of including the surrounding suburban areas. The first municipality in the district formed in 1970, Malappuram serves as the administrative headquarter ...

Kozhikode Kozhikode (), also known in English as Calicut, is a city along the Malabar Coast in the state of Kerala in India. It has a corporation limit population of 609,224 and a metropolitan population of more than 2 million, making it the second la ...

Kannur Kannur (), formerly known in English as Cannanore, is a city and a municipal corporation in the state of Kerala, India. It is the administrative headquarters of the Kannur district and situated north of the major port city and commercial hu ...

Palakkad Palakkad (), formerly known as Palghat, historically known as Palakkattussery is a city and municipality in the Indian state of Kerala. It is the administrative headquarters of the Palakkad District. Palakkad is most densely populated municipal ...

Thrissur Thrissur (), formerly Trichur, also known by its historical name Thrissivaperur, is a city and the headquarters of the Thrissur district in Kerala, India. It is the third largest urban agglomeration in Kerala after Kochi and Kozhikode, and t ...

and

Ernakulam Ernakulam () is the Central Business District of the city of Kochi in Kerala, India and has lent its name to the Ernakulam district. Many major establishments, including the Kerala High Court, the office of the Kochi Municipal Corporation a ...

districts.

Rescue of Kerala floods

Kerala's State Disaster Management Authority, Kerala police, Kerala Fire & Rescue Services along with the

Indian Air Force The Indian Air Force (IAF) is the air arm of the Indian Armed Forces. Its complement of personnel and aircraft assets ranks third amongst the air forces of the world. Its primary mission is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct aerial w ...

, Indian Navy, civilians, volunteers like

Seva Bharati Seva Bharati (Hindi:'' सेवा भारती'') is a Non-governmental organization, non-governmental organization (NGO) working among the economically weaker sections of Indian society, including tribal (vanvasi communities). It also w ...

, White Guard Volunteers fishermen from coastal Kerala are actively taking part in the rescue operations in flood-affected regions. However, inclement weather with heavy rains and landslides are hampering the rescue operations in the hilly regions of

, and

districts. 83

National Disaster Response Force The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) is an Indian specialized force constituted "for the purpose of special response to a threatening disaster situation or disaster" under the Disaster Management Act, 2005. The "Apex Body for Disaster M ...

(NDRF) teams were deployed in addition to the 173 teams of Army, Navy, Air Force, and Coast Guard to take part in the relief operations. Animal rescue was carried out by local NGOs and activists on ground mainly in places like Wayanad and Nilambur. Notable work was done by

Sally Varma Sally Varma (born 28 December 1984) is an Indian animal welfare activist. She is known primarily for her animal welfare activities in the Indian state of Kerala. She works with the Humane Society International India, in spreading awareness amon ...

Humane Society International Humane Society International (HSI) is the international division of The Humane Society of the United States. Founded in 1991, HSI has expanded The HSUS's activities into Central and South America, Africa, and Asia. HSI's Asian, Australian, Canad ...

/India in Nilambur where around 500 kg of dog food and more than 5000 kg of cattle feed and 2500 kg of goat feed was distributed to the starving animals.

Relief and Monetary Aid

Immediate financial aid of up to Rs 10,000 each for all calamity-hit families which had suffered losses in the torrential rains. A sum of Rs 4 lakh would be given to those whose houses had been fully damaged or had become uninhabitable and Rs 10 lakh to those who had lost their houses as well as land in the rain fury and landslides, Chief Minister's cabinet meetin
Kerala Govt Announces Flood relief Package; Rs 10,000 Immediate Aid to Calamity-hit Families
In August 2019, Public has been very generous contributing to Chief Minister's Distress Relief Fund. As on 15 Aug 2019 at 1940 hrs income is 4368.2 Cr (INR).

References

External links