UAE aid pours in for Kerala flood victims

Top Stories

ONE OF 5,645 CAMPS IN KERALA: Flood victims wait for food inside a temporary relief camp in Kochi on Sunday. — Reuters
ONE OF 5,645 CAMPS IN KERALA: Flood victims wait for food inside a temporary relief camp in Kochi on Sunday. - Reuters

Dubai - GEMS Education founder & chairman Sunny Varkey also committed Dh5 million to the special committee formed by the UAE.

By Team KT

  • Follow us on
  • google-news
  • whatsapp
  • telegram

Published: Sun 19 Aug 2018, 10:00 PM

Last updated: Mon 20 Aug 2018, 1:02 AM

Much-needed aid poured in on Sunday as 800,000 people were reported displaced and over 350 dead in the worst flooding in a century in southern India's Kerala state.
Torrential rain finally let up on Sunday, giving some respite for thousands of marooned families, but authorities feared an outbreak of disease among the hundreds of thousands crammed into relief camps.
A UAE-based foundation raised Dh15 million from businessmen for the flood victims within hours after it announced a relief campaign. The Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Foundation raised the amount after it formed a national emergency committee in response to the directives of the UAE leadership to provide assistance to the flood-ravaged Indian state. M.A. Yusuffali, LuLu Group chairman; and Dr B.R. Shetty, chief executive officer and executive vice-chairman of NMC Health PLC, donated Dh5 million each.
GEMS Education founder & chairman Sunny Varkey also committed Dh5 million to the special committee formed by the UAE.
Mohammed Haji Al Khouri, director-general of the foundation, said: "The rapid response reflects their sincere belief and trust in the significance of the UAE's humanitarian role and efforts."
Meanwhile, Dubai's Kerala Muslim Cultural Centre collected and dispatched relief items worth Dh4 million to Kerala.
Using boats and helicopters, India's military led rescue efforts to reach people in communities cut off for days, with many trapped on roofs and upper floors.
In several villages in the suburbs of Chengannur, one of the worst-affected areas, carcasses of dead cattle were seen floating in muddy waters.
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said 13 deaths were reported on Sunday, taking the total toll in the latest floods to nearly 200.
 


More news from