Chennai group steps in to help flood-hit

A truck carries people past a flooded road in Thrissur, in the southern Indian state of Kerala.- AP

Dubai - Multiple teams across the globe are contributing and they are the real heroes of this operation.

Building on their experience in rescue operations during the floods that hit Chennai in 2015, the Tamil Nadu Flood Support (TNFS) volunteers stepped up to help the flood victims in Kerala.
The group, active on social media with over 60,000 members, was formed during the Chennai floods with the aim of providing updates about the flood situation and making sure that people were made aware of ground reality.
"We had the experience and expertise and knew the ground realities of such a natural disaster. When floods hit Kerala, we joined hands with Keralites in Chennai and their peers around the globe, to brainstorm over what can be done. We then formed three WhatsApp groups - one to verify information that comes on social media, another to verify and enter the data into a Google spreadsheet, and a third group which reports them to the officials concerned. From there, until the status changes to 'rescued' or 'help has been provided', the team follows up until closure," said Anand Vaidyanathan, a TNFS volunteer and technical programme manager in Chennai.
"Multiple teams across the globe are contributing and they are the real heroes of this operation. Dr Ganapathy from London, who has a PhD in Disaster Management, guides us in tough situations."
Founders of the group - Deepa Rajagopal, Dhivya Marunthiah, Ashwin Sethuraman, Dilip Srinivas and Rajesh Ramamurthy Vattipalli - are working relentlessly on the rescue as well as relief, said Anand.
"It's going to be a hard time. All the kindness needs to go to Kerala to help them get back on their toes. Cases that the TMFS helped are numerous and include pregnant women being airlifted and providing oxygen cylinders for infants. Our strength is those on the field, particularly Akhilesh and Ashvin, who are key volunteers in helping with ground contacts to escalate these rescue missions.
"No one is safe from natural disasters and it's time to help each other in whatever ways we can," added Anand.

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