India’s southern state of Kerala is suffering its worst monsoon flooding in a century, with more than one million people displaced, and more than 400 reported deaths in the past two weeks. Aid agencies and government groups have set up more than 4,000 relief camps, while rescue personnel are making their way to submerged villages in helicopters and boats, bringing supplies, and evacuating those they can find. Weeks of heavy rainfall have caused dams to open their floodgates, triggered landslides in the mountains, and swamped the coastal regions of Kerala. Only in recent days have floodwaters begun to recede, allowing more access for aid workers and rescuers.
Devastating Monsoon Floods in Kerala, India
1. A man rescues a drowning man from a flooded area on the outskirts of Kochi, India, on August 16, 2018.
Sivaram V / Reuters
2. In this picture taken on August 9, 2018, water gushes out of Idamalayar Dam. Shutters of the dam were opened when the storage level of the reservoir became dangerously high.
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3. Water rushes following heavy rain and landslides in Kozhikode, Kerala State, India, on August 9, 2018.
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4. A car is submerged as roads and houses are engulfed in water following heavy rain and landslides in Kozhikode, India, on August 9, 2018.
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5. Residents watch as the Periyar river floods following monsoon rains in Aluva, in the Indian state of Kerala, on August 16, 2018.
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6. People are airlifted by members of the Indian Navy during a rescue operation in a flooded area in Kerala on August 17, 2018.
Sivaram V / Reuters
7. An aerial view of flooded Kuttanad, in Alappuzha District, in the state of Kerala, on August 19, 2018.
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8. A woman sits inside her house, immersed in floodwater, in the Ernakulam district of Kochi, on August 10, 2018.
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9. Indian army personnel evacuate locals in a residential area in Aluva on August 17, 2018.
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10. A view of a flooded area in the north part of Kochi on August 18, 2018.
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11. Indian passengers travel in a truck to a safer place as floodwaters ravaged National Highway 47 in the Ernakulam district on August 17, 2018.
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12. Indian Army personnel and Kerala state police work to build a temporary bridge over a rocky river following heavy flooding in Nelliyampathy in the Palakkad district of Kerala, on August 20, 2018.
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13. Rescue personnel carry animals and elderly people to safety from floodwaters during a rescue operation at Mala Village in Kerala's Thrissur district, on August 19, 2018.
Manjunath Kiran / AFP / Getty
14. A puppy is rescued from floods in Kerala on August 16, 2018, in this still image obtained from social media by Reuters.
Suhas Mangari / Reuters
15. School students from Agartala offer prayers for the Kerala flood victims in Agartala, India, on August 21, 2018.
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16. Flood victims unload food and relief material from an Indian Air Force helicopter at Nelliyampathy Village on August 21, 2018.
Amit Dave / Reuters
17. A volunteer throws a pack of bread to a family stranded in a flooded area in Chengannur, Kerala, on August 19, 2018.
Aijaz Rahi / AP
18. Members of the Border Security Force distribute food and water to residents who are stuck in their houses because of the flooding in Allapy on August 21, 2018.
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19. A bicycle is hung from a tree branch to avoid being washed away in floodwaters as a man rows with his dog in a country boat at Kuttanad in Alappuzha on August 20, 2018.
Tibin Augustine / AP
20. Men use a rod to break open a shuttered shop after it was damaged in the floods on the outskirts of Kochi on August 20, 2018.
Sivaram V / Reuters
21. People are airlifted by Navy personnel during a rescue operation in a flooded area in Paravoor, near Kochi, on August 18, 2018.
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22. An Indian army soldier airdrops relief material for stranded people above a flooded area in Chengannur on August 19, 2018.
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23. People wait for aid on the roof of their house in the southern state of Kerala, India, on August 17, 2018.
Sivaram V / Reuters
24. Kerala and Tamil Nadu Fire Force personnel carry children on their shoulders through floodwaters during a rescue operation in Annamanada Village on August 19, 2018.
Manjunath Kiran / AFP / Getty
25. Cattle nudge the carcass of another cow lying dead on the side of a road while a family waits for relief following floods in Annamanada Village on August 19, 2018.
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26. A 61-year-old kidney-ailment patient, Raveendran, who needs dialysis twice a week, is rescued before taken to a hospital from a flooded area in Chengannur on August 19, 2018.
Aijaz Rahi / AP
27. A boy cries after being rescued by volunteers with others from a flooded area in Chengannur on August 19, 2018.
Aijaz Rahi / AP
28. Volunteers work at an aid-distribution center inside a stadium in Kochi, on August 19, 2018.
Sivaram V / Reuters
29. 18-month-old Dakshina sleeps under a mosquito net at a relief camp set up for flood-affected people at a government-run school in Alappuzha on August 20, 2018.
Aijaz Rahi / AP
30. Residents of Pandanad sit in a bus stand surrounded by floodwaters from the overflowing Pampa river while a raft passes near them in Kerala's Alappuzha district on August 21, 2018.
Manjunath Kiran / AFP / Getty