IsraAID responds to devastating flooding in southern India

IsraAID’s team will distribute humanitarian relief to survivors of Kerala’s worst flooding in a century.

IsraAID, the leading Israeli humanitarian NGO, is today deploying an emergency response team to the southern Indian state of Kerala, which has been hit by the worst flooding in living memory. More than 350 people have been killed since the monsoon began at the end of May, and at least 220 have died since the eighth of August, when the rains grew heavier. 725,000 people have fled their homes to emergency relief camps, and thousands have been left stranded in areas rendered inaccessible by the flood waters. The devastating monsoon rains have been significantly heavier than usual and have covered the region.

IsraAID’s team will distribute urgent relief items and assess the longer-term psychosocial and WASH (water, sanitation, and hygiene) needs of the affected communities. The team will arrive in Kerala today and tomorrow.

IsraAID’s emergency response team consists of international and Nepali staff from IsraAID’s office in Nepal, with extensive humanitarian experience. Last year, members of the same team responded to heavy flooding in the Terai region of southern Nepal.

Yotam Polizer and Navonel Glick, IsraAID’s co-CEOs, said: “According to the Indian authorities, Kerala is facing its worst flooding in a century. In the face of this devastation, IsraAID will be partnering with local communities and NGOs to help meet the affected population’s pressing needs. Based on IsraAID’s experience, both internationally and in the region, we will focus initially on urgent relief distributions to evacuated communities, while our team assesses next steps in accompanying the affected population on the path to recovery. We are particularly proud of our well-trained and experienced emergency response team, based in Nepal. Their expertise ensures we can respond as quickly as possible to this unfolding emergency.”