ACT concerned of TN floods and landslides

The death toll in the Tamil Nadu floods and landslides has risen to 80, as India continues to live at the mercy of the dramatically changing climate. After a brief respite, the state has again been lashed by heavy rains created by a low pressure over the Indian Ocean. Weather forecasters say the low pressure area has extended and will bring more heavy rain to Tamil Nadu in the following days.

Action by Churches Together International (ACT) members in Tamil Nadu describe the district of Nilgiris as a "bleak picture of calamity". The town continues to reel under floods, having been drenched in 600ml of rain in the three days. Landslides and heavy rain have taken the death toll in the last two days to 43. The BBC reports that a single landslide caused by heavy rain killed at least 38 people. Many areas remain cut off by the landslips.

Safe drinking water in Nilgiris is becoming scare, and the cost of basic food is rising. ACT reports that standing paddy crops are surrounded by 60cm of water and if arrangements are not made to drain off this water it will crop damage will be inevitable. Local Government was poorly prepared for the emergency. Camps for homeless people are non-existent and precautionary and mitigation steps are not being taken to minimize the damages of floods. Fallen trees have cut roads and bridges, power is down in some areas and cattle losses have been reported.

ACT International has issued a US$575,000 appeal for Tamil Nadu, in addition to the US$1.5 million appeal for survivors of the Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh floods already issued. ACT members on the ground in Tamil Nadu say the "glaring flood situation" requires immediate response. In total, ACT proposes assisting 15,000 of the worst-affected families with cooked meals, family relief kits, dry food rations, and plastic sheeting to serve as temporary accommodation. Two ACT members are implementing the appeal, along with local churches, with a third ACT member on standby.

The elements that feed and water crops and sustain populations have created an onslaught in the last five months in India, curtailing crop production, causing environmental degradation, and pushing up food prices. The increased stress on families has been immense.

Last months' floods in Karnataka and Andhra Pradhesh, which killed 250 and left 1.5 million homeless, followed months of drought in the country caused by the failure of the southwest monsoon. While Government and NGOs were trying to help the 40 percent of the country hit by drought, sudden and heavy rains lashed the southern states of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh states leading to the worst floods in a century. Last year, it was the northeastern states of Bihar, Assam, Orissa and West Bengal that were ravaged by floods. The floods in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh were followed by the heavy rains in Tamil Nadu that have killed 80 people to date.

All these incidents occurred within four to five months, affecting the life and welfare of the people across the nation this year. ACT members report that not even the authorities could predict the massive changes in the weather. Constantly changing flood and rainfall patterns mean the Meteorological Department finds it increasingly hard to predict weather events accurately. This inability to forecast results in loss of life, damage to assets, crops and properties.

On web: www.act-intl.org