Digital Phablet

Tag: Kerala

  • India Monsoon Floods & Landslides Claim Over 100 Lives Since July

    India Monsoon Floods & Landslides Claim Over 100 Lives Since July

    Floodwaters and landslides caused by the monsoon season have resulted in over 100 fatalities across India since July, with countless residents fleeing rising waters from their homes.

    The monsoon, which typically delivers vital rainfall to farmers, is becoming increasingly unpredictable and deadly in South Asia due to climate change, experts warn. Assam, in northeastern India, has been particularly hard-hit, with at least 87 deaths reported by Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma. In Sivasagar district, which has seen the most devastation, 47 people have lost their lives, and many neighborhoods remain submerged.

    Authorities have called on the public for financial donations to aid relief efforts. “The destruction here surpasses anything this region has experienced before,” Sarma shared on X. “Material damage can be repaired, but no amount of money can bring back loved ones.”

    Images from AFP show residents navigating flooded streets on rafts and inflatable boats to reach higher ground.

    In Kerala, the southern Indian state, heavy rains over several days have resulted in at least 15 deaths, with seven more individuals reported missing. Relief efforts have established over 300 camps, providing shelter for more than 10,000 people as landslides and swollen rivers force evacuations.

    In Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir, at least 31 deaths have been linked to sudden, intense rainfall. Lightning strikes have also been deadly, killing at least 22 people in Bihar and Jharkhand states since Tuesday. Most victims are farmers working in rice fields or cattle herders, including four children.

    India’s monsoon-related disasters are a seasonal challenge, often following long, hot summers marked by drought and water shortages. Meanwhile, Sri Lanka reports at least eight deaths from recent heavy rains that have caused flash floods and mudslides since Monday, displacing approximately 12,000 residents and flooding their homes.

    Interestingly, while parts of Sri Lanka suffer severe flooding, eastern regions are experiencing drought, prompting authorities to deliver drinking water via tanker trucks. Experts attribute these extreme weather patterns to El Nino, which has elevated surface temperatures in the central and eastern Pacific Ocean this year.

  • Indian President’s Helicopter Stranded at Kerala Helipad

    Indian President’s Helicopter Stranded at Kerala Helipad

    A section of a newly constructed helipad in Kerala’s Pramadam collapsed after a helicopter carrying Indian President Droupadi Murmu landed there on Wednesday. The incident took place at the Rajiv Gandhi Indoor Stadium in Pathanamthitta’s Pramadam, where the president was visiting Sabarimala. Despite the mishap, President Murmu proceeded to Pamba — the base area near Sabarimala — by road.

    After the president left for Pamba, viral videos captured bizarre scenes at the stadium, showing officials manually pushing an Indian Air Force Mi-17 helicopter off a collapsed helipad, which drew widespread criticism and social media reactions. Someone quipped, “President Draupadi Murmu is experiencing firsthand the BJP’s space technology infrastructure, as her helicopter’s wheel got stuck on the brand-new helipad.”

    Reports from Indian media indicated that the original landing site was supposed to be Nilackal near Pamba, but bad weather prompted a last-minute change to land at Pramadam instead.

  • India’s Monsoon Arrives Early, Marking 16-Year Record

    India’s Monsoon Arrives Early, Marking 16-Year Record

    A worker tidies up the beach at Fort Kochi in Kochi, with pre-monsoon clouds in the background, on May 9, 2019 — Reuters

    The monsoon rains made their first appearance on the coast of Kerala, India’s southernmost state, on Saturday, arriving eight days ahead of schedule. This marks the earliest onset in 16 years, bringing hopes for a bountiful harvest and relief from an intense heatwave.

    The monsoon is crucial for India’s economy, which is valued at $4 trillion, providing nearly 70% of the rainfall necessary to irrigate farms and replenish essential water sources like aquifers and reservoirs. Approximately half of India’s agricultural land, which lacks irrigation systems, relies entirely on the June to September monsoon rains to grow various crops.

    Typically, the summer rains start affecting Kerala around June 1, spreading across the country by mid-July, enabling farmers to sow essential crops such as rice, corn, cotton, soybeans, and sugarcane.

    The India Meteorological Department (IMD) announced on Saturday that this year’s southwest monsoon began over Kerala on May 24, making it the earliest since May 23, 2009.

    The monsoon has already passed over Kerala and parts of neighboring Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, as well as regions in the northeastern state of Mizoram, according to the IMD’s report.

    Favorable conditions are expected to allow the monsoon to extend into Goa, portions of Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, northeastern states, West Bengal, and the remaining segments of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu in the next two to three days.

    Early rainfall and the swift arrival of the monsoon are anticipated to assist farmers—especially in southern and central states—in planting summer crops sooner than usual, stated Ashwini Bansod, vice president of commodities research at Phillip Capital India, based in Mumbai.

    “The combination of sufficient soil moisture and early planting could significantly enhance crop yields,” Bansod added.

    Last year, the monsoon reached Kerala’s coast on May 30, with summer rains being the highest since 2020, aiding recovery from drought conditions in 2023.

    The IMD forecasted above-average monsoon rainfall for the second consecutive year in 2025.

    The department considers average or normal rainfall to be between 96% and 104% of a 50-year average of 87 cm (35 inches) for this four-month season.