Aid Agencies Rush to Aid 2.5 Million Homeless Due to Flood in India

Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2009 Posted: 4:17:17PM HKT

Villagers look at their submerged houses at flooded R Garlapadu village, about 180 kilometers (112 miles) away from Hyderabad, India, Sunday, Oct. 4, 2009. Medical teams were being rushed Sunday to flood-devastated southern India where scores of people have died after five days of unceasing torrential rains, authorities said. (Photo: AP Images/Mahesh Kumar A)

Aid agencies are rushing to aid the victims of floods in south India as over 2.5 million people have been rendered homeless and over 200 killed due to the flood.

The flooding, described by officials as the "worst in many decades in south India", has killed 250 people, mainly in the states of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka.

In Andhra Pradesh, close to two million people have been affected in 475 villages and over 33 people have been reported dead as per the government figures. Close to 50,000 homes have been destroyed forcing two hundred thousand people into relief shelters.

In Karnataka, the districts of Bijapur, Bagalkote, Raichur, Koppal and Gulbarga are the worst affected. In Bijapur alone 10,000 people have been left homeless.

Over 50 villages have been completely submerged or marooned in Andhra Pradesh, the Krishna River is inundated, the famous temple town of Mantralayam has been under 10 feet of water for more than a day, according to Caritas, a Christian aid agency. Kurnool town remains totally inaccessible, making it tough for rescue operations.

Caritas India South Zonal Manager Mr. Ambrose Christy said: “We have never experience anything like this before. It is the worst flooding in 100 years. The situation could become even more severe as the rains get worst. If the Krishna River bursts its banks, millions more will be forced from their homes and a huge area of land will be underwater.

Relief officials used helicopters and boats to drop off rations and plastic sheets to hundreds of marooned villagers in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka.

Mr. Ambrose said: “Caritas is able to give immediate relief to the people who have been forced from their homes. At the moment, the focus is on food, medical supplies, drinking water, and making sure people are safe. It's too early to make assessments of damage to homes and livelihoods.”

World Vision said it is now appealing for 2 million U.S. dollars to meet the immediate needs of flood survivors who have been driven from their homes into relief camps. Those floods have destroyed crops and impacted some 20 million people, with scores of villages cut off.

The agency's relief workers have been providing cooked food, family packs of household items, mosquito nets, cooking utensils and clothing to thousands of survivors in relief camps in the two states.

ActionAid said relief workers are overwhelmed with the scale of destruction in Andhra and Karnataka as very little government aid is reaching the affected families.

ActionAid, through its partners and networks, is responding to the situation in both the states.

“In Andhra we are focusing on reaching out to 15,000 families in 70 villages of Kurnool, Mahaboodnagar and Krishna districts,” said Raghu P, ActionAid regional manager in the state.

“We have responded swiftly and 200 families were rescued in Nahdavaram of Kurnool. They were given emergency food as they were without food for several hours,” said Rajashekhar, Programme Officer for ActionAid, who is on the ground.

In Karnataka, rescue teams assessed damage in seven cities and have started providing immediate relief.

“Hundreds of house in slums have collapsed and urban poor have lost what little they have. Water and food is scarce,” said Kshithij Urs, ActionAid regional manager in Bangalore.

“In Hospet area, 55 slum dwellings have collapsed. The state administration has only offered Rs. 3000 to some of the families. The urban poor need to work each day to get food to eat,” he added.

ActionAid has issued an amount of two million U.S. dollars with immediate affect and has called for more financial aid. The destruction has hit the poorest and will need a long-term engagement, the agency said.

Immediate needs are rescuing families, providing food, drinking water, medicines, sheets for shelters, family kits with torches.

Officials and relief agencies said flood victims were now sheltered in over 1,200 temporary camps. They included about 2.5 million people from Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh who have lost their homes.

Joseph Keenan
CP South and Southeast Asia Correspondent