South India Floods
People wade through floodwaters in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. © Stringer India/Reuters
Heavy rainfall on 29 September in the states of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, India, caused the Krishna River to breach its banks, destroying homes, roads and millions of acres of farmland. Low-lying regions, including around 200 villages, remain submerged. The floods have followed droughts that affected large parts of the country.
Relief workers haven’t been able to reach remote communities. Many families are being moved into overcrowded relief camps. As the number of people in the camps rises, clean water and sanitation can become scarce. Unless help reaches children and their families very quickly, there is an imminent threat of an outbreak of diarrhoea and other potentially lethal water-borne conditions. Schools in the worst-affected areas have closed.
Thirteen per cent of all children under the age of five in Andhra Pradesh are already acutely malnourished. The destruction of farmland has raised fears of food shortages which could leave more children, pregnant women and lactating mothers at risk of malnutrition.
What we’re doing
We’re distributing:
- 5,000 hygiene kits containing oral rehydration salts and vital water-purification tablets to reduce the risk of diarrhoea and other water-borne diseases. The kits also include jerry cans, soap and mosquito nets.
- 5,000 household kits which provide families with the essentials they need to stay warm and prepare basic meals.
- 10,000 education kits containing pens and exercise books so that children can continue to learn until their schools reopen.
We’re also establishing 20 areas where children can play and learn safely with their peers. This helps them experience some form of normality and begin to recover from the trauma they’ve experienced. We will also provide one cooked meal for the children in these areas each day to prevent the onset of malnutrition.
How you can help
Please help us to reach more children by donating to our India Floods Appeal.
(Figures quoted are from Reuters AlertNet).
