Rescue workers have used helicopters and boats to evacuate hundreds of people stranded on rooftops following unprecedented flooding in the southern Indian state of Kerala.
With the torrential rains stopping on Friday, thousands of rescuers worked quickly to shift the marooned people to 1,200 state-run camps where more than 150,000 people already have taken shelter.
Indian Army has been deployed in massive numbers in flood-hit Kerala & more manpower & material is being pumped in. Soldiers are working round the clock to save lives & property of those who are hit. Specialist columns of Corps of Engineers widely deployed. Army doctors active. pic.twitter.com/GGlAjy7qAJ
— Major Gaurav Arya (@majorgauravarya) August 17, 2018
Heavy rains over the past eight days triggered flooding, landslides and home and road bridge collapses, severely disrupting air and train services in Kerala state, a popular tourist destination with beautiful beaches.
State officials have put the death toll at 164 since August 8.
Monsoon rains kill hundreds of people every year in India. The season runs from June to September.
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