No provision to declare a disaster as 'national calamity': Centre

The Centre informed the Kerala High Court today there was no legal provision to declare a disaster as a national calamity, amid demands for declaring the floods as a national disaster.

In an affidavit, the Centre said it has treated the flood situation in Kerala as a "Disaster of Serious Nature" and has categorised the same as 'L3 Level of Disaster' under the National Disaster Management Guidelines.

"It is submitted that there is no provision in statutes or manuals to declare a disaster as a 'national calamity', howsoever big it may be.

"It is only an expression used in general parlance," the Centre said.

The affidavit was filed in a response to a petition filed for declaring the floods as a national disaster.

Besides Congress president Rahul Gandhi, the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) in the state and the opposition Congress had wanted the Centre to declare the floods a 'national disaster'.

At least 216 people have lost their lives in the rains, floods and landslides in Kerala. Over 7.24 lakh displaced people have been lodged in 5,645 relief camps in the state.