Kerala's worst floods have been a national disaster in more ways than one

A swimmer set a national record at the ongoing Asian Games, not knowing if his family had been rescued from the rising waters. A Major going home for Onam mobilised an army of volunteers and saved thousands before finally seeing his own family at a relief camp. Fishermen waded through sludge waters to save as many as their motorised boats could carry. As flood-ravaged Kerala sifts memories from the muck, the rest of us must separate true tales of heroism from the fake news, half-truths and political mud-slinging that has dominated headlines. 

Kerala’s worst floods in a century have been