Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Over one million flee to relief camps after Kerala floods

MORE THAN one million people have fled to relief camps to escape devastating monsoon floods that have killed more than 410 people in India's southwestern state of Kerala, officials said Tuesday (21).

About 50,000 homes have been destroyed, according to one Kerala legislator, and people are flocking to the camps as the scale of the desolation is revealed by receding waters.


A total of 1,028,000 people were now recorded in about 3,200 relief camps across the state, a state government spokesman told a news source.

Six more bodies were found Monday (20), he added, taking the toll to more than 410 since the monsoon started in June.

At Chengannur, one of the worst-hit towns, more than 60 centimetres (two feet) of water still blocked many roads as more rain fell Tuesday.

Army teams said several thousand people in the town remained in homes inundated by 10 days of torrential downpours that have battered the state.

Rescue teams in Chengannur on Tuesday finally reached the house of retired army officer K.G. Pillai, who said up to 2.4 metres (eight feet) of water had engulfed the house where his family had lived since 1952.

"In the past there has never been more than one foot of floods and people are not used to this," he said.

Many roads and homes around Pillai's house remained inaccessible.

"Around 26 people moved into the first floor of our home" to take refuge from the floods, he said.

A senior army officer involved in the rescue operation in Chengannur said authorities believed most of the people left in town did not want to be evacuated and were instead seeking food and water.

"We received a distress call late yesterday to rescue a disabled child and will be going in today on boats to check if there are others who need assistance," he said.

Thousands of army, navy and air force personnel have fanned out across the state to help those stranded in remote and hilly areas.

Dozens of helicopters and even drones have been dropping food, medicine and water to cut-off villages.

Tens of thousands of people in Chengannur and surrounding towns and villages are relying on community kitchens for meals, after water from hilly districts in Kerala's north poured down into lowland regions.

"People have lost all or most of their belongings in the last few days," the officer said.

Shashi Tharoor, a deputy from Kerala and former UN official, estimated that 50,000 houses had been destroyed. He said he would seek possible UN assistance in relief efforts during a trip to Geneva this week.

Millions of dollars in donations have poured into the state from the rest of India and abroad since the extent of the devastation became known.

Supreme Court judges have donated $360 each while the British-based Sikh group Khalsa Aid International has set up its own relief camp in Kochi, Kerala's main city, to provide 3,000 meals a day.

AFP

More For You

Harry and Meghan urge tougher safeguards to protect children online

Prince Harry criticised tech companies for citing privacy laws to deny access

Getty

Harry and Meghan urge tougher safeguards to protect children online

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have called for stronger protections for children online, warning that not enough is being done to shield young people from the dangers of social media

During a visit to New York, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle unveiled a new memorial dedicated to the memory of children whose families believe harmful online content contributed to their deaths. The installation, named the Lost Screen Memorial, features 50 smartphones, each displaying an image of a child lost to what their families describe as the adverse effects of social media. The memorial was made available to the public for 24 hours.

Keep ReadingShow less
Afghan exodus soars as Pakistan deadline nears

Afghan refugees arrive at a camp near the Torkham border last Sunday (20)

Afghan exodus soars as Pakistan deadline nears

MORE than 100,000 Afghans have left Pakistan in the past three weeks, the interior ministry said on Tuesday (22), after Islamabad announced the cancellation of residence permits.

Calling Afghans “terrorists and criminals”, the Pakistan government launched its mass eviction campaign on April 1. Analysts said the expulsions are designed to pressure Afghanistan’s Taliban authorities, which Islamabad blames for fuelling a rise in border attacks.

Keep ReadingShow less
Government announces funding for offshore wind supply chains

Energy secretary Ed Miliband reads a letter from Britain's King Charles III during the Future of Energy Security Summit at Lancaster House on April 24, 2025 in London, England. (Photo by Justin Tallis - WPA Pool/Getty Images)

Government announces funding for offshore wind supply chains

THE government has announced an initial £300 million investment to strengthen domestic offshore wind supply chains ahead of the Comprehensive Spending Review. The funding will be distributed through Great British Energy, the country's publicly-owned clean energy company.

Prime minister Keir Starmer on Thursday (24) said the investment aims to support jobs and help the UK reach clean power by 2030.

Keep ReadingShow less
modi-pahalgam-getty

'I say to the whole world: India will identify, track and punish every terrorist and their backer,' Modi said in his first speech since the incident.

Getty Images

Modi vows to hunt Kashmir attackers ‘to the ends of the Earth’

INDIA and Pakistan have exchanged a series of diplomatic measures after prime minister Narendra Modi blamed Pakistan for a deadly shooting in Pahalgam, Kashmir, in which 26 civilians were killed.

Modi said India would identify and punish those behind the attack and accused Pakistan of supporting cross-border terrorism.

Keep ReadingShow less
Donald Trump

Trump also announced an initiative on historically black colleges and universities and signed orders on AI education and workforce development.

Getty Images

Trump signs orders targeting university diversity policies and accreditation

DONALD TRUMP signed a set of executive orders on Wednesday aimed at US universities, focusing on foreign donations, college accreditation, and diversity and inclusion initiatives.

One order directs the federal government to enforce existing laws requiring universities to disclose large foreign gifts. Another addresses accreditation, which Trump has described as a “secret weapon.”

Keep ReadingShow less