Salute to the Saviours

A FORCE Report

Weeks of heavy monsoon rains triggered landslides and floods that Kerala had never seen before in years. While it is normal for Kerala to get some of the country’s highest rainfall during monsoon season, this year it received 37 per cent more, said the India Meteorological Department. Once the news of the floods arrived, the entire nation swung into action, led by the Indian armed forces. Thousands of personnel of the Indian Navy, air force and army got engaged in the rescue, relief and evacuation operations with the support of dozens of helicopters, aircraft and hundreds of motorboats. The armed forces’ stellar role in the rescue operations is laudable.

IAF’s HADR Missions

The Indian Air Force (IAF) organised the largest Humanitarian Assistance Disaster Relief (HADR) flood rescue operations till date with its powerful aircraft dropping a total of 2.47 lakh kg of relief material. The air force had to reach areas that were inaccessible even by boats to rescue people.

The IAF’s flood relief and rescue operations in Kerala saw many firsts, a senior air force officer said. The use of 584 ‘winchings’ — pulling up stranded people to a hovering helicopter using a strong line — was the highest number that any branch of the armed forces had ever used in a humanitarian operation. When the flood started, the IAF swung into action immediately by extending all possible assistance. Concerted efforts were made by the IAF in rescuing stranded people from the flooded areas. Women, children, the elderly and others were winched from rooftops of submerged houses to safety by IAF helicopters. As of August 21, the IAF has been able to rescue over 663 people stranded in the f