The southern Indian state of Kerala has been devastated by the worst floods and landslides seen in nearly 100 years. With over 320 lives lost in the past two months (about half of that in the last 10 days and death toll expected to mount), more than half a million people displaced and in relief camps and damages to private and public property mounting over £2 billion, this is one of the worst natural disasters in living memory affecting almost every region of the state. Personally I'm deeply touched as some of the affected places include where I grew up as a child and have friends and extended family who are directly impacted. The state often is described as "God's own country", blessed with 44 rivers criss crossing the state, originating from the high western ghats in the eastern border, recognised by UNESCO as a world heritage site and one of the eight hotspots of biodiversity in the planet. Most of these rivers flow into the Arabian sea in the west, running through densely populated rural and urban settlements. The state has a population density of 860 persons / sq km, lot higher than the average for the Indian sub continent. Kerala received well above the average rainfall this monsoon within a span of few days in August and this led to the unprecedented situation of all 44 rivers breaching their banks and causing untold flooding misery to people living in the catchments. The worst affected locations in the central districts of the state include places with a high number of expat population, with aged parents living on their own in many cases.

Immediate disaster relief activities are in full swing when I write this, supported by volunteer fishermen coming in from coastal areas of the state with their small boats, local community volunteers, Indian defence forces and local administration. However, it will take years to rebuild the communities and vital infrastructure and your kind donations will help make a big difference. All donations will go towards a disaster relief fund administered by the state government, who are well placed to administer & distribute funds to those who are most needy. The funds are subject to the audit of the comptroller and auditor general and subject to the right to information act(RTI act ) that provides transparency into how it is spend.

Your kind donations no matter how big or small will all greatly count towards rebuilding lives and communities. Please help as generously as you can and thank you for reading.

Note: You may also donate directly to the disaster relief fund via http://www.cmdrf.kerala.gov.in.