NEW DELHI: Even as Kerala reels under nature's fury and the Centre rushes in more rescue teams, a recent flood hazard index prepared by disaster management authorities under the Union home ministry ranked Kerala above Assam, Gujarat and Odisha among top 10 states vulnerable to floods.After hundreds of people perished in the last few weeks in Kerala, a brainstorming of mandarins at the Centre revealed Kerala as exception among 30 states and Union Territories that have raised SDRF (State Disaster Response Force), at least one battalion (1100 personnel), mandatory as per the Disaster Management Act rules to battle emergency situations like the present flooding which could have helped reduce casualties.A review meeting of disaster authorities under home ministry has faulted the state for not "gradually releasing" water from about 30-odd dams in the state foreseeing the heavy rains, sources said. A National Crisis Management Committee meeting, chaired by the Cabinet secretary, was held in the Capital on Thursday attended by the chiefs of Army, Air Force, Navy and secretaries of Defence, Home and water resources.At the meeting, the Centre decided to dispatch an additional 35 teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), each comprising 40-45 personnel, taking the total to 53. The deployment of more manpower and equipment is part of the Centre's efforts to scale up the rescue and relief operations in Kerala in view of the grim situation. The home minister on Thursday said already 18 teams of the NDRF , nine columns and eight teams of the engineering task force of Army, 22 teams of Coast Guard, 24 diving teams of Navy along with helicopters, aircraft, boats, equipment, life buoys, life jackets, etc are engaged in rescue and relief in the worst affected districts of Kerala."The scale of floods in Kerala has probably recurred after 100 years exposing its unprofessionally managed reservoir management system and unpreparedness on disaster mitigation and disaster resilience," a senior official pointed out. If the state had "gradually released" waters from at least 30 dams, the crisis could have been contained, he said, adding that the state authorities failed to foresee the imminent danger with high rain predictions.Kerala has also not taken many of the measures on disaster risk reduction as per the National Disaster Management policy. This despite the fact that the state was ranked among to 10 most vulnerable states on flood hazards.A flood vulnerability index, prepared by the Union home ministry based on parameters such as areas actually flooded during 1950 to 2016, areas vulnerable to flood and cities that fall in flood prone areas, ranked Kerala 7th among top 10 vulnerable states.According to home ministry, nearly 817 people have died in recent flood-related incidents across the country, the highest 247 from Kerala, followed by UP-191, West Bengal-183, Maharashtra-140, Assam-45 and Nagaland-11.Kerala is also a laggard state among those surveyed by the Centre on risk governance. These states have been assessed on the progress made in setting up institutional mechanisms for risk resilience. Every state is to set up its State and Disaster Management Authority, as mandated by the Disaster Management Act. "With the sole exception of Gujarat that had its SDMA already constituted and fully functional under the Gujarat State DM Act, very few states have made any progress, including Kerala," sources said.A draft report prepared by the Centre as part of risk assessment of states, found "most of the states SDMAs function more like a committee that meets occasionally than as a statutory authority with regular office, establishment and work plan".