Deluge in kerala

Sir — Flood in Kerala has acquired biblical proportions. It is sorrowful that 27 people lost lives to the deluge unprecedented in our times. Flood waters have caused havoc throughout the State while surging into the Arabian Sea. The damage to crops, dwellings and infrastructural facilities is sure to run into thousands of crores of rupees.

Glimpses of heavy rainfall, rush of water, inundated lands, landslips, rivers in full spate, flooded roads with floating or stuck vehicles, collapsed bridges, uprooted trees and electric poles, submerged houses, local residents braving the rising waters to escape drowning and  rescue operations by disaster management personnel in the State known for its scenic beauty have given us a sense of the enormity  of the disaster. 

The ban on taking selfies from ‘inviting’ spots is a wise decision taken to avoid needless loss of life. More weightily, we have to undo what we have been doing to increase vulnerability to natural disasters of this kind and consequences of climate change. The fury of nature has demonstrated its destructive power and precarious human condition in relation to nature.

It is commendable that the flood has brought out the best in the people of Kerala. They have discovered and deployed reserves of inner strength and risen to the occasion. The mutual love and support is sustaining and seeing them through the calamity days before Onam.

It is during times like this that we become united by a sense of common humanity and overtake selfishness with altruism. The rest of India should help Kerala when it sets about rebuilding itself.