In Pictures: The Massive Kerala Rescue Mission By Indian Armed Forces

After two weeks of non-stop downpour, the torrential rain finally let up in flood-hit Kerala on Sunday. Red alert has been lifted from several districts of the state. According to reports, the intensity of rain has been decreasing for the past two days and there is no alert for heavy precipitation for the next four days.

Incessant downpours have wreaked havoc, causing the worst floods in a century. In numbers, over 300 people have lost their lives, agriculture crops in over 40,000 hectares of land have been destroyed, over 26,000 homes have been damaged beyond repair, water has washed away 134 bridges and 16,000 km of Public Works Department roads. Over 82,000 km of local roads, which link small towns and villages, have vanished, causing a total loss of Rs 21,000 crore.

At least five satellites of the Indian Space Research Organisations have been providing data for the assessment of the situation in the rain-battered state. The Hyderabad-based Decision Support Centre has been deriving information from the data sent by the satellites and disseminating it to the concerned agencies.

Using boats, helicopters, fixed-wing transport aircraft and even men on foot, the three services of the India’s military - the Army, Navy and Air Force - have led a massive rescue efforts to reach people cut off for weeks, trapped on roofs and upper floors, in desperate need of food and clean water. The forces have deployed around 300 motorised boats, hundreds of medical teams and thousands of personnel for the ongoing rescue operations in the state.

Here are some pictures of the massive relief effort led by the forces:

1) Indian navy personnel being lowered from a helicopter to rescue people stranded in a house. So far, the Navy has deployed 58 rescue and diving teams along with 70 boats to rescue people in flood-hit areas of Kerala.

2) The Indian Navy dispatching rubberised boats and divers to flood-affected areas in Kerala to speed up rescue operations. The three services have deployed 339 motorised, 24 non-motorised and 21 hired boats to bring people out from the flooded areas of the state and take them to relief camps.

3) A family rescued by the Navy. Around 180 locals airlifted from affected areas are present in a relief camp set up inside an aircraft hangar in the Kochi Naval Base. Mobile phones, landlines, basic amenities including night clothing have been provided to the rescued families. Medical care is available 24x7 at the base.

4) Food and water packets being loaded onboard a navy helicopter to be airdropped in affected areas. The forces have launched a massive operation to distribute relief material, including airdropping food packets.

5) Medical officers and supply of relief material, including medicines, sanitary napkins and baby diapers, being rushed to the disaster relief camps of flood-hit districts of Kerala. Till now, 3,757 medical camps have been set up.

6) People airlifted from a flood affected area being brought to a relief camp set up by the forces. Over 38,000 people have been rescued so far.

7) A navy officer offers a mobile phone to a lady rescued from a flood-affected area. The Navy is making new teams to join the rescue operations. Over 40 Navy teams are participating in the rescue operations.

8) A pregnant woman airlifted from a flooded area near Kochi airport. the rescue mission involved 30 minutes of rock-steady hover by a Navy Chetak crew.

9) Indian Navy personnel building a rope bridge in Thrissur to rescue people stranded on the other side. The heavy downpour has washed away 134 bridges and 16,000 km of Public Works Department roads in Kerala.

10) Indian Army personnel building a temperature bridge. The Army has constructed 13 temporary bridges to reconnect 38 remote areas. A total of 3,627 people have been rescued using these, including 22 foreign nationals.

11) Indian Army personnel carrying relief supplies on boats. A column of 120 Engineers Regiment has evacuated and provided relief material in the general area of Aluva and Kalady in Ernakulam District using Engineer Boats.

12) A column of DSC Centre rescued approximately 100 civilians from the flooded area of Kakkodi, Kiralur and Oorkadavu near Kozhikode town. Another 100 civilians were rescued in the ongoing operation at Parambil Palli Makkam.

13) An old lady rescued by Indian Air Force personnel being brought to a relief camp. IAF helicopters winched and evacuated the stranded people and children from the rooftop and safely dropped them at various relief camps.

14) The Indian Coast Guard has deployed 10 Disaster Response Teams with 10 Gemini boats in various flood-affected regions of Kerala. Coast Guard was involved in a precarious rescue operation when its personnel helped evacuate a 10-day-old child in Kerala’s Kadungalloor town on Saturday.

15) A team of the National Disaster Response Force rescues an old lady from a house surrounded by water. The operation was conducted by a by a team of four in Pandanadu village in Chengannur taluk of Alappuzha district in Kerala.