UN 'saddened' by loss of lives due to floods in Kerala, monitoring situation

The UN is ready to help India in tackling the flood situation in Kerala if a formal request is made.

UNITED NATIONS: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has issued a statement saying that the world body is saddened by the loss of lives and the destruction due to the Kerala floods and that it was monitoring the situation very closely.

''The UN 'is saddened by the loss of life, destruction and displacement caused by the floods in India's Kerala', which is the worst flooding in about 100 years,'' UN chief's spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said.

Replying to a question, the spokesperson said that India has so far not asked for the UN assistance in tackling the floods in Kerala.

''There has been no request for help,'' he said adding, "as you know that India has quite a well-operating machinery to deal with natural disasters."

"But, of course, our country team - I have been in touch with our Resident Coordinator (Yuri Afanasiev ) they are following closely, they are in touch with partners on the ground," he said.

The statement from the UN chief came at a time when the worst floods in Kerala has claimed the lives of at least 324 people and rendered many others homeless.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi also arrived in Kerala on Friday night to review the situation in flood-hit areas in Kerala. 

He arrived in Kochi on Saturday morning to undertake an aerial survey of the affected areas and review the relief and rescue operations being carried out there.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrives in Kochi. #KeralaFloods pic.twitter.com/188CsnTZ3L — ANI (@ANI) August 18, 2018

The Prime Minister was received by Kerala Governor P Sathasivam, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, his cabinet colleagues among others.

He spent the night at the Kerala Raj Bhavan, the official residence of the Governor.

Before returning to Delhi from Kochi, the Prime Minister will chair a meeting to discuss the grave situation in the state.

A red alert continues in 12 districts, with various agencies continuing the rescue operations after rains subsided to evacuate over 80,000 persons on Friday.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan told the media on Friday night that the situation arising out of unprecedented floods and subsequent havoc caused by turgid rivers and gushing waters in Kerala continues to be "grave".

Hundreds of defence personnel, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams, helped by more than 20 helicopters, are carrying out search and rescue operations. Fishermen along with their motorboats too joined the humanitarian efforts.

#WATCH Police and NDRF joint rescue operation in a flooded area of Kodagu. #KarnatakaFloods pic.twitter.com/fl8vVWbddH — ANI (@ANI) August 18, 2018

More helicopters were pressed into service on Friday to fly sorties for rescue and relief.

Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman sanctioned extra choppers as people marooned in Chengannur and Chalakudy could only be airlifted to safety.

Waters from the Periyar river and its tributaries kept many towns in Ernakulam and Thrissur districts submerged. The worst affected include Paravur, Kalady, Chalakudy, Perumbavoor and Muvatupuzha.

Torrential rains, overflowing rivers and a series of landslides have resulted in the death of 324 people so far, leaving over three lakh people in over 2,000 relief camps.

(With Agency Inputs)