NEW DELHI, India (AFP) – Nearly 200 people have died in floods and landslides in India and Nepal, officials said Thursday, with whole families buried in their homes and two young girls swept away as forecasters warned of yet more heavy rain. Experts say that they were victims of the ever-more unpredictable and extreme weather that has hit South Asia in recent years caused by climate change and exacerbated by deforestation, damming and excessive development. […]
Tag: Kerala
India arrests man over shocking death of elephant
by Jalees ANDRABI Agence France-Presse NEW DEHLI, India (AFP) — Indian police have arrested a plantation worker and are hunting two others after a pregnant elephant died after eating fruit laced with explosives, officials said Saturday, in a case that shocked the country. The elephant died in agony last week in the southern state of Kerala, the latest casualty of a growing conflict in South Asia between nature and humans as ever more forest is […]
More bodies found in flooded Kerala as toll hits 370
by Bhuvan BAGGA in Thrissur, and Abhaya Srivastava in New Delhi Agence France Presse THRISSUR, India (AFP) — Rescuers searched submerged villages in southwest India on Sunday in a desperate hunt for survivors after floods killed at least 370 people and drove more than 700,000 from their homes. Entire villages in Kerala have been swept away in the state’s worst floods for a century. Rescuers fear the death toll will rise as they reach areas […]
More bodies found in flooded Kerala as toll hits 357
by Bhuvan Bagga Agence France Presse THRISSUR, India (AFP) — Rescuers waded into submerged villages in southern India on Sunday in a desperate search for survivors cut off for days by floods that have already killed more than 350 people. Entire villages in Kerala have been swept away in the state’s worst floods in a century, and emergency responders fear the death toll will rise as they reach areas almost entirely underwater. In Thrissur, […]
Flood death toll in India’s Kerala jumps to 164
KOCHI, India (AFP)–The death toll from major floods in India’s tourist hotspot Kerala has jumped to 164, state chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan said Friday, issuing a fresh heavy rainfall warning for the battered region. Kerala’s government has described the crisis — one of the worst in decades — as “extremely grave” and rescue operations are underway to help thousands who remain trapped by floodwaters. “The chief minister has confirmed 164 deaths. Around 100 people died […]
India flood toll hits 86 in ‘extremely grave’ crisis
KONCHI, India (AFP)–The official death toll from major floods in India’s tourist hotspot of Kerala hit 86 on Thursday with media reporting even higher numbers amid warnings of more torrential rainfall. With a major rescue operation launched to help thousands of people trapped by the floods, Kerala’s chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan said the state now faces an “extremely grave” crisis. Kerala, famed for its pristine palm-lined beaches and tea plantations, is battered by the monsoon […]
India warns of ‘extremely grave’ crisis as flood toll rises
KOCHI, India (AFP) – Hundreds of troops led a desperate operation to rescue families trapped by mounting floods in India’s Kerala state Thursday as the death toll reached 106 with nearly 150,000 left homeless. Helicopters airlifted stranded victims from rooftops and dam gates were thrown open as incessant torrential rain brought fresh havoc to the southern state that is a major international tourist draw. Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan said the state now faces an […]
Troops called to India’s Kerala as flood toll rises
KOCHI, India (AFP) — Helicopters airlifted stranded families from rooftops and dam gates were thrown open as incessant torrential rain brought fresh havoc Thursday to the Indian state of Kerala where about 100 people are feared dead. Hundreds of extra troops were deployed in the southern state, a major tourist hotspot, as the government issued a “red alert” over the region’s worst floods in decades. State authorities said the confirmed death toll was 72 […]
Flash floods after heavy monsoon rains kill 37 in India’s tourist hotspot Kerala
NEW DELHI, India (AFP) — Flash floods in Kerala have killed 37 people and displaced around 36,000, Indian officials said Saturday, after heavy monsoons led to landslides and overflowing reservoirs across the southern state. Kerala, famed for its pristine palm-lined beaches and tea plantations, is battered by the monsoon every year but the rains have been particularly severe this season. Those forced from their homes “have moved to 350 relief camps across the state”, […]
Flash floods kill 27 in south India, prompting US travel alert
NEW DELHI, India (AFP) — Flash floods have claimed at least 27 lives in the southern Indian state of Kerala, officials said Friday, prompting the US to advise its citizens to stay away from the tourist hotspot. The coastal state, famed for its pristine palm-lined beaches and tea plantations, is battered by the annual monsoon every year but the rains have been particularly severe this season. Nationwide, more than 700 people have been killed in […]
Modi promises help for south Indian state after massive temple fire
KERALA, India (Reuters) – Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday (April 10) promised all necessary help to the southern state of Kerala as it copes with the aftermath of a catastrophic temple fire. A fire and explosions during a fireworks display to mark the start of the local Hindu new year killed 100 people and injured more than 380. Speaking at a hospital in the state capital of Thiruvananthapuram, the prime minister said his […]
India temple fire kills more than 100 people watching fireworks
by Jalees Andrabi KOLLAM, India (AFP) — A massive explosion and blaze apparently sparked by a stray firework during an unauthorised display killed over 100 people and injured scores more at a temple in southern India Sunday. Thousands had packed overnight into the Hindu temple complex in Kerala state where the firework is thought to have landed on a stockpile of others, triggering a huge blast that tore through concrete buildings. “It came like a […]





