Ottawa's Indian community bands together in wake of 'unprecedented' flooding

People in Ottawa's South Asiancommunity are coming together to help thoseaffected by floods in Kerala, India that have killed hundreds ofpeople the worstflooding in the state in a century.

Heavy rains over the past week have triggered flooding andlandslides, and have caused homes and bridges to collapse.

The rains have also severely disruptedair and railservicein Kerala, a popular tourist destination with beautiful beaches.

In addition to the hundreds who've died in the floods, more than300,000people have been displaced.

Ottawa's Indian community bands together in wake of 'unprecedented' flooding

6 years ago

Duration 0:29

The owners of Kochin Kitchen will be holding a fundraiser next weekend to help with relief efforts in Kerala, India, where all three owners have family.

'An unprecedented disaster'

Heavy rains began hitting parts of the state again Saturday morning, slowing attempts to deploy rescuers and get relief supplies to isolated areas many of which have seen no help for days and can only be reached by boat or helicopter.

At Kochin Kitchen in Ottawa, partners in the restaurant watched the destruction on Indian news channels.

"We are fromKerala, and we would like to help our friends and people who are suffering there by the flood," said Biju George, one of the restaurant's co-owners.

"It is an unprecedented disaster."

The restaurant is holding a fundraiser on Aug. 25 and 26, with two seatings at 11:00 a.m. and 1 p.m. where all the proceedswill be donated to relief efforts.

The servers and kitchen staff are also donating their salaries from those two days.

Worry for family and friends experiencing flooding

George said he has friends and family in Kerala, where about 35 million people live, and also owns land and a house there.

He said he's never seen a disaster of such magnitude hit the state before. He said he'sspoken with family and friends who've had to abandontheir houses for higher ground.

His own house is most likelyimmersed in water and completely destroyed, he added.

"I'm not worried about that, but I'm worried about the people who are living in the area and who have lost their life. Every minute people are losing their life," he said.

Rescue workers have used helicopters and boats to rescue people stranded on rooftops. As of Saturday, 1,500 state-run camps were temporarily housing more than 300,000 people seeking shelter.

"We are very sad about the situation and we wanted to do something for them," said George. "This is a real human tragedy."

'It has hit the community'

People were also thinking of theirfamily and friends in India at the annualSouth Asian Fest Saturday at Ottawa City Hall.

"There is concern. It has hit the community," said the festival's artistic director, Hunsdeep Rangar, who has family in Kerala.

"Naturally it hits a nerve here in Ottawa," said Rangar who estimates the Indian community to number roughly50,000 in the national capital region.

Rangar said people in the community are talking to each other and reaching out to local community associations about what can be done in terms of fundraising and relief efforts.