Kerala Flood Relief Report |
In the aftermath of the severe southwest monsoon that devastated the South Indian state of Kerala, over 370 lost their lives, and a million people were displaced. Torrential rains and floods resulted in 221 collapsed bridges, 537 landslides, and damaged over 6,000 miles of road. About 42,000 hectares of crop were completely destroyed, affecting over 260,000 farmers. The biggest calamity over the past century has resulted in estimated losses of over $3 billion. But together we can rebuild Kerala, and we will. Volunteers from Sewa International and its partner organization Sevabharathi Keralam continued to work round the clock, running a 24×7 hotline in the US and multiple helpline centers across Kerala. Over 85,000 volunteers — 60,000 men and 25,000 women, and thousands of children and youth are involved in rescue operations, offering medical help, helping at community kitchens, cooking and serving meals. Sevabharathi has spent over $172,000(~Rs.1.2 crores) so far in undertaking various rescue/relief activities. Of the 3,965 rescue camps run by the government, 150 of them are directly managed and maintained by Sewa’s partner nonprofit organization with 50 volunteers exclusively dedicated to each camp. About 20 volunteers are deployed to each of the remaining rescue camps. Volunteers take up various responsibilities that include rescue, logistics and support, distribution of relief material, cooking, serving, transportation, etc. Volunteers from all districts, especially the fishermen community from Kozhikode, Thrissur, and other coastal areas are actively engaged in the rescue work in Ernakulam, Pathanamthitta, and Thrissur districts. More than 70,000 people were rescued by Sevabharathi volunteers from the flood affected areas. |
Volunteer Sewa International invites volunteers to come forward and support various initiatives by volunteering with us. |
Help Desk
The team helped rescue activities in the entire state including supporting government officials in identifying isolated people in the flood affected areas across various locations. Sevabharathi volunteers were also deployed at help desks in each district. Sewa volunteers in the US coordinated the requests that came over the 24×7 hotline and dedicated Whatsapp group. |
Rescue Vehicles
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Warehouses
Special district-wise teams are constituted to coordinate the activities. The collected materials are transported to the relief camps, and the rest of the materials are distributed to households in the flood affected areas. |
Community Kitchens
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Medical Camps
In this hour of need, Sewa urges everyone to donate generously. |