WHICH STATES ARE THE MOST VULNERABLE TO FLOODS?

ARE FLOODS THE DEADLIEST NATURAL DISASTER?

WHAT IS THE STATUS OF VARIOUS FLOOD MANAGEMENT PROGRAMMES?

DOES KERALA HAVE THE WETTEST DISTRICTS IN THE COUNTRY?

People travel in boat after they were rescued from a flooded area in Chengannur in the southern state of Kerala, India, Sunday, Aug.19, 2018. Some 800,000 people have been displaced and over 350 have died in the worst flooding in a century. (AP Photo)

Original Kerala and

Tamil Nadu

Fire Force personnel carry children on their shoulders through flood waters during a rescue operation in Annamanada village in Thrissur district, in the south Indian state of Kerala, on August 19, 2018. Rescuers waded into submerged villages in southern India on August 19 in a desperate search for survivors cut off for days by floods that have already killed more than 350 people. (AFP Photo)

The death toll keeps rising in the Kerala floods as the state struggles to cope with higher-than-normal rainfall. While floods are not the deadliest natural disaster in India, they have the potential to cause extensive damage across the country. But among the more vulnerable states, most have received less than half the funds earmarked for them for flood management...In 1980, the Rashtriya Barh Ayog (RBA) had assessed that overall an area of about 40m hectares in the country is vulnerable to floods. Uttarakhand, UP, Bihar and Punjab have the highest share of these vulnerable areas.No, floods are not the biggest killer. In 2015, more than 2,600 people were killed by lightning — the largest number of deaths by natural causes. It was followed by heatstroke and exposure to cold. Floods came after these three. Loss to property caused by floods though is unmatched by other disasters.As on March 31, 2018, the total approved work for flood management was estimated to cost Rs 13,238 crore (For both XI and XII plan years). The latest data shows that only Rs 4,873 crore has been released so far. Among the top-10 states in terms of allocation, most have had less than half the funds released so far.In normal years, Kerala has just one district in the top 10 in the monsoon season (till Aug 18). This year, it has the highest representation with four.