Taking stock:Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan interacting with flood victims at a relief camp in Chengannur on Thursday.  

Kerala Chief Secretary Tom Jose on Thursday filed a sworn affidavit in the Supreme Court detailing the trauma and scale of rescue and relief operations during the most devastating floods the State has seen in a century.

The affidavit pays tribute to the overwhelming help received from unexpected quarters, including local fishermen of Kerala and the Odisha Fire Services.

Mr. Jose said the floods surpassed the havoc caused by the 1924 floods and is “now the most intense floods to have hit the State in the last 100 years.”

“The Government of Kerala sought immediate assistance of the armed forces and deployment of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) from the Union government to address rescue and relief operations keeping in mind the colossal magnitude of the floods spanning 13 of the 14 districts in the State. The entire State machinery was galvanised to manage the disaster,” the Chief Secretary informed the Supreme Court.

He said 774 villages of a total of 1,564 in the State were inundated. “Kerala has a population of about 3.48 croore. More than 54 lakh, one-sixth of the population, was directly affected by this deluge,” the affidavit said.

The Kerala government commended the effort made by the local fishermen in the rescue efforts arm-in-arm with the central forces deployed along a large contingent of State Police, Fire and Rescue Personnel and the of the State Disaster Response Force.

Sign up to receive our newsletter in your inbox every day!

Please enter a valid email address.

Our existing notification subscribers need to choose this option to keep getting the alerts.