After Kerala's devastating floods, how lights came back to ravaged homes

The disaster left 2.56 million homes statewide without electricity

Nileena and Cherian Zachariah’s home in Kallissery in central Kerala’s Chengannur taluk became a refuge for several neighbours affected by the devastating floods that swept Kerala in August 2018. It was also a hub for relief work.

“We were lucky that our home was not damaged,” said Cherian, who moved back to Kerala in 2014 from Kuwait where he had worked for 20 years.

But the flood waters had left Chengannur without electricity. It was the worst-affected division in the state with six of seven sections flooded. By August 16, 2018, its sub-station--an electricity distribution point--had been switched