New Delhi: The death count of people who perished in the floods in six states this monsoon season has climbed to 1,211; the highest in the last two years. Kerala has reported maximum casualties of 488 till September 3, followed by UP at 256 and West Bengal at 210.Karnataka, Assam and Uttarakhand have reported high casualties as well in flood-related incidents with 170, 50 and 37 people dead so far, respectively, according to data compiled by the disaster management division of the Union home ministry.In 2017, around 1,200 people had died in flood-related incidents in just five states of Bihar, West Bengal, Assam, Maharashtra and UP. Last year, Bihar accounted for the highest 514 deaths, followed by 261 in West Bengal, 160 in Assam, 124 in Maharashtra and 121 in UP. These states had 34 million population affected by floods and over 22.81 lakh (2.2 million) living in relief camps.In 2016, the flood situation reports showed 936 deaths due to floods—Bihar reporting the highest loss of 254 people, followed by 184 in Madhya Pradesh; 145 in Maharashtra and 102 in Uttarakhand, among others.This year, Kerala has experienced unprecedented floods, affecting over 54 lakh population with a record 14.52 lakh living in relief camps; Assam has reported 11.52 lakh affected population and 2.45 lakh living in relief camps. An estimate made by the National Disaster Management Authority puts the loss of human lives at 1,600 on an average every year due to floods. The damages caused to crops, houses and public utilities are in excess of Rs 4,745 crore annually (estimate till 2005) with 12% of the geographical area of the country being flood prone.The flood situation in Kerala is extraordinary and has occurred after almost a century. The scale of devastation is too high. P K Mishra, additional principal secretary to Prime Minister Narendra Modi , told TOI last week that the Centre has already disbursed Rs 600 crore to Kerala from the National Disaster Response Fund for immediate relief and restoration work and more is likely to be disbursed after the assessment report is received.The government’s focus is immediate resumption of basic services including electricity, communications, water supply and public health services. Personnel of Army, Navy and Air Force have been pressed into service for rescue and restoration activities.