NEW YORK(TIP): The fury of recent floods in Kerala is unprecedented in the history and has wreaked havoc on the lives and livelihood of millions of people.

More than 350 people have died in the worst flooding in nearly 100 years. More than 350,000 people have found shelter in relief camps and thousands of others on high ground in areas cut off by floods. Thousands of people who were stranded on rooftops or the upper floors of homes have been rescued. Relief and rescue efforts have been in full swing. Supplying of food, medicine and clean water is a growing challenge for authorities.

More than 82,000 rescue operations have been mounted by the Indian military, disaster management teams and volunteer workers including fishermen. Their efforts, however, have been hampered, by incessant rain, which had limited their work to daylight hours.

The aftermath of the flood can also be beset with many problems. Damage to infrastructure is expected to come to $3 billion. Roads and 134 bridges have suffered damage, isolating remote areas in the hilly districts of the state which are worst affected. Thousands of homes have been lost; many more have been found severely damaged. Acres and acres of crops have suffered extensive damage.

Millions of people underwent harrowing experiences and lost belonging that they had owned. All of them are faced with daunting task of rebuilding their lives from scratch. The magnitude of rehabilitation will be an enormous task which need help from everyone, the government of Kerala, the central government and development agencies. Affected people are looking up to various agencies, philanthropic and NRIs/PIOs to help the victims in rehabilitation efforts.

GOPIO would like to raise awareness of this enormous natural calamity and would appeal to all NRIs/PIOs to help their unfortunate brethren during this challenging phase. With comparatively much better access to resources, majority of the NRIs/PIOs, if not all, are in a better position to give donation that can easily make a huge difference. GOPIO Fund would supplement in the rehabilitation effort and help people as they start to rebuild their lives. You may send your donation as per information given below.

For more information, you may contact Inder Singh, Executive Trustee, GOPIO Foundation at indersinghusa@gmail.com or +1 818-708-3885 or Dr. Thomas Abraham, GOPIO Chairman at gopio@innoresearch.net or +1 203-329-8010 or Sunny Kulathakal, GOPIO President at kulathakal44@gmail.com or +91 9845756692.

The funds raised will be channelized through established rehabilitation organizations who are in the field with close supervision of GOPIO International and our GOPIO-Kochi.

Donation to GOPIO may be sent as follows:

By check to: GOPIO International, 11433 Arlee Ave., Norwalk, CA 90650, USA

Or by using your credit card at the – PayPal link.

Visit www.gopio.net or specifically http://www.gopio.net/Kerala_Flood_2018_Donations.htm