Kerala is experiencing a situation almost similar to what the State faced during the devastating floods of 2018 and 2019. The normal monsoon in Kerala runs from the second half of May to the end of September. But this year it rained more than usual.
From October 16, 2021 onwards, it rained heavily throughout Kerala. On the morning of the 17th, there was a huge cloudburst in central Kerala, with extreme losses. Mainly the affected areas are districts like Kottayam, Idukki, Thrissur, and some parts of Ernakulam. There were a number of landslides, two of which were devastating. They caused flooding in villages such as Plappalli, Kokkayar, Koottikal, Mundakkayam, Ranni, Thodupuzha, Erimeli, Peerumedu, Peruvandhaanam, Eanthayaar, Kanjaar, Poonjaar, Kokkatthodu, Kalleli, Vayakkara, and Eettumanoor, to name a few. More than 200 houses were completely swept away by the flood caused by the landslides and many other houses were partially damaged.
Several people were injured and displaced, while 25 died and more than 10 people are still missing. A total of 105 relief camps have been set up throughout central Kerala. As more rain is expected, a yellow alert has been issued in Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Kottayam, Patthanamthitta, Alapuzha, Idukki, Ernakulam, Thrissur, Palakkad, Malappuram, and Kozhikode. The army, navy, and air force have been mobilized to carry out flood relief operations. The casualties are still increasing. It will take a long time to bring their lives back to normal. We ask all our dear friends, benefactors, donors, and health volunteers to support this cause with their prayers, presence, or other means of contribution.
CTF began organizing medical camps and relief activities on October 18. We will ensure that any financial help you can provide through CTF-India reaches those in need. The immediate response aims to: Distribute food kits and drinking water to reach 11,640 families and 58,200 beneficiaries; Set up medical camps and provide medical aid as people need daily medicines, medical check-ups, care for cancer patients and dialysis for kidney failure patients, medical and surgical equipment, and for hospital medical interventions for poor patients; Recover household items lost during the flood, such as appliances and household materials (tables, chairs, cribs, kitchen appliances, beds, buckets, and dishes, etc...); Distribute necessary clothing (for men, women, and children, sheets, towels, etc.) to continue living as needed; Distribute cleaning materials for homes so people can return home from relief camps; Buy building materials for damaged or destroyed houses.
We partially help to rebuild damaged houses to help poor families. CADIS International appeals to your generosity to help and support our emergency intervention. We will keep you updated on recent events on the ground. Every natural disaster teaches us spiritual lessons and makes us understand the value of the life we live. Every event happens so that we can learn something. It seems that every minute there is some new disaster making the news. We are just recovering from a world-altering, paradigm-changing event and another follows. I am convinced that one of the greatest tragedies of our society today is the fact that, somehow, we have equated the ability to be understanding, the ability to be compassionate, the ability to relate to the needs of our neighbor as weakness - when, in reality, it is a sign of strength. The more we are able to communicate to others and to ourselves the spiritual consequences of trauma, the more likely we are to heal and transform these experiences. Pastoral care is to lead, guide, nurture, support, heal, and restore people and the whole world.
EMERGENCY OPERATIONS UPDATES
For almost two weeks, CTF India and lay volunteers have been working in Kerala to address the flood emergency. Relief efforts in communities are helping people clean the mud in damaged houses, recover personal belongings, and provide assistance and support to those in relief camps waiting to return to their homes. Even though the process is still long, due to the severe damage to homes, infrastructure, and the landscape devastated by landslides, the CTF team has been able to make several site visits to help with the clean-up.
October 21, 2021
Kokkayar, hit by the largest landslide in Kerala, is a village in the Poovangimala valley located on the eastern side of Kottayam district. Seven houses were completely destroyed, causing the death of 12 people, including 4 children. The survivors were housed in relief camps. After the assessment in Kokkayar, the team cleaned two houses, bringing moral and spiritual support to the people, each with a personal story of how the disaster was experienced. A blockage under the nearby bridge created flooding due to trees uprooted by the landslide and debris. To remove the blockage, CTF appealed to higher authorities and the parish priest, who responded positively to the request.
October 22, 2021
Elankkadu is a village located on the bank of a river at the border between Kottayam and Idukki districts. This place is at the top of the western ghats, severely affected by landslides and floods. On the way to Elankkadu, the team realized the gravity of what had happened. Due to multiple landslides, the road was partially destroyed, which forced many volunteers to abandon their plans to visit the area. Despite the difficulties on the road, the team and volunteers reached the place and, with the help of the parish priest, identified a house that was partially destroyed and full of mud. It took the whole day to remove the mud and restore it to normal condition. The situation of the inhabitants of the area is dramatic. Most of the houses in the area were destroyed and the river swallowed up the properties. One of the locals owned 12 acres of land, now entirely underwater. Most of the people in the area were taken to relief camps and during the day they access their homes to recover as many belongings as possible, most of the time finding nothing. 25 houses per neighborhood were affected. Koottikkal and Kokkayar Panchayats are the most affected areas; in both panchayats there are 27 neighborhoods, so about 675 houses are partially or completely destroyed. About 2,500 people are housed in relief camps. The people affected by this disaster are poor farmers who depend on rubber plantations for their livelihood. The landslide and flood took away everything they owned.
October 23, 2021
Cleaning work was done in constituency no. 12 of Koottikkal panchayat, a colony where poor people live nearby. The place, called Lakshamveedu Colony, is located on the riverbank where almost all the houses were affected by the flood. The most considerable destruction occurred in five houses located within 100 meters of the river. The inhabitants of the colony are all daily wage workers engaged in crushing, construction work, etc., and most of the houses were built according to government schemes as all the families belong to the Schedule Caste. Now they have lost their homes and the little land they owned. The Camillian Task Force has been actively working to finish cleaning the affected houses, which were full of mud and river debris. Even though they are cleaned, they are not in good condition to live in. People are safe in relief camps with food and all services, but once the news of this topic leaves our minds, who will help them remains an uncertain question. Spontaneous help and voluntary contributions are essential to carry on the emergency intervention and help the local population. CTF India, Camillians, and all the volunteers involved in the operations are willing to continue to bring help and support to those in need so that no one is left alone.
P. Baby Ellickal MI
National Director, CTF-India
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