Unusually catastrophic monsoon rains continued Saturday in the southern Indian state of Kerala, where more than 300,000 people have now evacuated their homes to escape rising floodwaters. Another 10,000 are thought to be trapped on their roofs awaiting rescue.
Severe flooding has lasted for more than a week, and at least 324 people have died in connection to the floods. More rain is expected at least through Monday, hindering already fraught rescue efforts. Nevertheless, 82,000 rescues were completed on Friday alone.
"It's a four-story house, but water started pouring in fast until it reached the second floor and stayed that way for two days," said one woman named Shrinni, who lives with her family in a town called Ranni. "My relatives shifted to the top floor with all the stuff they immediately needed. An airlift came, but as my 85-year-old grandmother had never taken a flight in her life and she was afraid to go. So the whole family stayed back. On Friday, rescuers came with motor boats and shifted them to a safe place."
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