KOCHI, India, Aug 26, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – The death toll from devastating
floods in the southern Indian state of Kerala rose to 445 Sunday with the
discovery of 28 more bodies as the waters recede and a massive cleanup
gathers pace, government officials said.
Around a million people are still packed into temporary relief camps and 15
are reported missing even as the government mounts an operation to clean
homes and public places that have been filled with dirt and sand left by the
floods.
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan in a tweet said that more than
130,000 flood-hit houses had been cleaned, or nearly a third of those
affected.
Authorities are also in the process of restoring electricity connections.
People returning to their homes have been told to stay alert as receding
waters leave behind a glut of snakes. State authorities and wildlife experts
have formed teams to come to the aid of those who have found snakes in their
home, according to local media.
With death toll rising daily, Kerala authorities said “due process will be
followed to ascertain if all these deaths are flood related”.
A 68-year-old man committed suicide Wednesday after seeing the state of his
home at Kothad in Ernakulam district. A 19-year-old boy took his own life
earlier in the week because his school certificates were destroyed by the
floods, police said.
The government says that more than 10,000 kilometres (6,000 miles) of roads
have been destroyed or damaged while a legislator said 50,000 houses had been
wiped out.