The magazine of the photo-essay
Dec 2018 back issue
“A free, really high quality photo-essay magazine. Fabulous!”
Stephen Fry. British actor, writer and film maker
by Keerthivasan.N
Kerala, October 2018
The Kerala floods in India have been making devastating headlines around the world. Kerala has witnessed the worst
flooding in 100 years. Over 2,086 mm of rainfall has hit this region in the space of two weeks. So far over 360 lives have
been lost and over 5000 relief camps have accommodated over 1.2 million people. The rain has impacted hundreds of
villages, causing extensive damage and displacement. Rescue operations still continue to date.
In agricultural India, an abundant monsoon is a blessing. However, successive spells of heavy and excess rainfall have
triggered massive flooding that have devastated Kerala. The last time flooding of this level occurred was in 1924, when
the total rainfall from June to August was 2852 mm. The several incidences of landslides that aggravated damage to life
and property could be attributed to extensive development, including mining, quarrying, and road building along the
hillsides of the Western Ghats.
During October, I went to witness and document the disaster in Kerala. I visited many people, villages. I witnessed heaps
of destroyed households, landslides, temporary homes as well as roads, recovery work. Nobody is concerned about the
reason behind this man-made disaster. To them, it’s only natural calamity.
Through this project I wanted show only the flood disaster and how human life has been effected.
