It was 3AM on Jul 31st and my 2 yr 10 months old daughter was lost, as I woke her up. The moment I said that we are flying to India, she was all charged-up and was standing outside waiting for me. Off-course I was excited too, to fly to God´s Own Country, Kerala (India) and my roots.
It was my first time flying alone with a child, though I was confident my little one would cooperate, I was still little concerned; thinking what if she wants to meet mama or go home or just be cranky. However, she behaved so maturely, helping during airport checks, exploring new things at the airports and in the plane. She is definitely one of the best kids to travel with. #bestchild2travelwith
Week 1: After reaching Kerala at early hours, we went to my cousins´ place and caught-up on our lost sleep. Following which my little one was busy playing with her cousins and grand parents. Most part of the first week of our trip, went in visiting relatives, enjoying the food and spending time with my parents and cousins. Our regular guest during the monsoon, RAIN was off-course very much present.
Week 2: Midway through the trip, we were trying to make most of it by doing some shopping, attending celebrations, as well as a sadly demise of a relative (James chetta RIP). Again, RAIN accompanied us everywhere and disturbed our plans a few times.
Week 3: As we were packing our bags and getting ready to return, RAIN had other BIG plans; it rained heavily and continuously for 3-4 days, filling the reservoirs, which already was at its maximum levels. I was wondering, how much water, clouds can store. Final curtains on our return were drawn on Aug 14th night, when water was let out from major dams, flooding the areas downstream, including Kochi airport and surrounding areas. We have been on a move to safer locations from 15th August, moved three stations before settling at a much secure location on 16th August afternoon.
Observation, Experience & Opinion:
– Most of the population living near the Kochi airport were not expecting water near or in their homes, and when water came, it came fast and most people had less time to react #Keralaflood
– What I noticed was a show of unity and selflessness. Only thing that mattered was safety of fellow humans and nothing else. Some forces tried and failed to disturb the harmony of the state during this crisis. #ProudToBeMalayali
– Three days without electricity, water from tap and internet, reminded me of my summer holidays in Kerala as a kid. I am proud that that my daughter accepted the situation (better than I did as a kid), co-operated, enjoyed our candle light dinners and we stayed happy…..happiness is indeed state of mind!!
– Thankfully, we had enough food and fresh water bottles to survive 3-4 days
– Next few days, sound of rain worried me, as I could not gauge the impact and control it
– Air India: Based on TV news, I have been in touch with AI hotline for status and alternatives for flight scheduled from Kochi to Mumbai on 15th Aug. I received an Email at 12:22hrs regarding the flight cancellation. Following my visit to airport office, I contacted hotline again at 15:15hrs, to be informed that AI rescheduled my flight from Trivandrum @ 19:00hrs, failing to reach, will be a NO SHOW (I did not receive any communication from AI regarding the change with flight details). Means, I need to reach Trivandrum from Kochi in 2 hours, which is impossible via road/rail under normal conditions. Some common-sense, communication, fair treatment was too much to expect from Air India, forget the support/consideration during crisis situation #ShameAirIndia
– Thanks to Swiss for rescheduling our flights and getting us back to Germany
– The cause and impact of flood is a point of discussion, sooner we can conclude and realize, better it will be to define steps to handle similar situations in the future. According to me, three factors contributed to what Kerala faced; heavy rains, poor dam management (should have let small amounts of water out much earlier, especially when we had the forecast of heavy rains) and insensitivity of us towards nature (deforestation, sand mining, capturing river sides and reducing the size of rivers) #Savenature
– Response of the Kerala state government has to be praised; the way they lead and coordinated rescue efforts, how they ensured that the relief camps had the necessary things, how technology and social media was used in rescue operations and for communication, how the complete government machinery was used to minimize inconvenience to common man by setting up offices to issue documents/certificates, govt. employees working in relief camps, police guarding the flooded areas. All this with sense of urgency, which was visible on the ground.
Based on what I have experienced and seen, below are a few tips, which might be helpful in similar situations.
- Never underestimate the impact, prepare yourself, family and important belongings for the worst.
- When relocating, DO NOT OVER PACK; carry few clothes, water, snacks, medicines and secure important documents and mobile phones in water safe polythene/Ziploc.
- Empty refrigerator if possible or switch off with doors open.
- Let pet animals and mammals free, as they can run to safety.
- Do not panic, try to get as much information as possible and avoid flooded roads/areas.
- Travel in groups.
- Do not recommend all family members take high risk. In such situations, split into groups.
- Listen and respect the rescue team and volunteers.
- Avoid selfies and do not take stupid risks. #NoDisaterTourism
The inconvenience experienced by me and people around me is negligible, compared to people who have lost their loved ones or life’s savings. Kerala thank fellow humans around the world, Malayalees, rescue teams who worked selflessly, family and friends for all the support, prayers and love. Please do not stop, let us provide more support and love as Kerala recovers!
It was a catastrophe and we all have lessons to be learnt!!