India: Emergency Response to Monsoon Floods in Kerala and Assam – IND181

Assam

In the evening of Sunday, 5th  August 2018, the state of Assam witnessed severe rains that substantially increased the level of water flow in the rivers and breaking river banks. This led to flash floods in some districts of Assam and disrupted the normal life of the people. The floods created widespread damage to houses, fields and livelihoods, affecting thousands of people. These floods exacerbated the recent floods which affected Golaghat, Lakhimpur, Udalguri, Barpeta, Morigaoan and Hojai, districts in Assam. The floods have affected 6 Revenue Circles, 110 Villages, 6,855 Acres of agricultural land and forests. It has been reported that 81,269 people have been affected. 20,651 people took shelter in 109 relief camps. The loss of human life stands at 46 so far since the first wave of floods. The second wave of floods affected 1,05,782 people in 224 villages under 18 revenue circles of eight districts of the State.

Kerala

During the evening of 9th August 2018 the state of Kerala witnessed severe flooding owing to consistent rains for a couple of days. The vigorous southwest monsoon has left a trail of destruction across Kerala, killing at least 87 people so far.  The monsoon eventually increased the water level in in many dams/reservoirs in Kerala, and flooded many areas in northern districts, namely Idukki, Ernakulam, Malapuram, Kozhikode, Palakkad and Wyanad. The flooding damaged infrastructure of around 10,000 kms of roads and 20,000 houses. The release of water from dams extensively damaged the district around Idukki and Ernakulam. The excessive rains in other parts also led to flooding in Wyanad, Kozhikode, Palakadd and Malapuram Districts. Idukki and Wayand being hilly terrains, also witnessed severe landslides and road blocks, which reportedly caused 40 deaths. Around 150,000 people have moved to various camps in the state. The army and the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) have been deployed in all affected districts. Roads have been cut off and many districts are witnessing power shut down as a precautionary measure. The power shutdown us expected to bring in drinking water crisis. This flood is the second wave of Flood in Kerala this monsoon season. The first wave of floods affected Wayanad district and the Kuttanad area of Kerala.

Concept Notes_India_Floods in Kerala and Assam-IND181

As part of the revision of the ACT Alliance Humanitarian Response Mechanism, the “Preliminary Appeal” is replaced by the “Concept Note”, a shorter more concise document which summarizes the proposed ACT response and emphasizes collaboration amongst the ACT members. For further information on the Revised Humanitarian Response Mechanism, please refer to its online toolkit: https://actlearn.org/course/view.php?id=236