India on Wednesday announced survival drama 2018 (also known as 2018: Everyone is a Hero) as the official entry for the 2024 Academy Awards, officially acknowledging the Malayalam film’s status as both a critical and box office hit.
The film, starring Tovino Thomas, Kunchacko Boban, Asif Ali, Vineeth Sreenivasan, Narain and Lal and directed by Jude Anthany Joseph, is based on the devastating floods in Kerala in 2018 which were dubbed the ‘Disaster of the Century’.
The movie beat other contenders such as The Kerala Story, Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani, Mrs Chatterjee Vs Norway, Telugu film Balagam, Marathi films Vaalvi and Baaplyok and August 16, 1947 (Tamil). It will compete for the Best International Feature Film Oscar, a category that was previously titled Best Foreign Film.
The selection has once again brought back the spotlight on the catastrophic calamity that killed over nearly 500 people and displaced many others. As 2018 prepares to showcase the tragedy on the global stage, News18 presents a recap of the floods that swept away Kerala:
What happened in 2018?
Monsoons in India always knock on Kerala’s door first, signalling their arrival in a country that still remains heavily dependent on rains for agriculture and subsistence.
However, the Southwest Monsoon of 2018 brought one of the worst floods experienced by the state in a century as abnormally high rainfall from June 1, 2018, to August 19, 2018, resulted in severe flooding in 13 of the 14 districts. As per IMD data, Kerala received 2346.6 mm of rainfall from June 1, 2018, to August 19, 2018, in contrast to an expected 1649.5 mm of rainfall — about 42 per cent above normal.
The ensuing calamity was one the state wasn’t prepared for. People had to be evacuated from districts of Chengannur, Pandanad, Edanad, Aranmula, Kozhencherry, Ayiroor, Ranni, Pandalam, Kuttanad, Malappuram, Aluva, Chalakudy, Thrissur, Thiruvalla, Eraviperoor, Vallamkulam, North Paravur, Vypin Island and Palakkad Chellanam.
The state government reported that one-sixth of the population was directly affected by floods and ensuing secondary disasters and the Centre declared the floods as “calamity of a severe nature”, the National Institute of Disaster Management (NIDM) said in its report.
Of the 54 dams in the state, 35 were opened for the first time in history. All the five overflow gates of the Idukki Dam were opened simultaneously while in Palakkad’s Malampuzha Dam, five gates were opened for the first time in 26 years.
What made the situation worse was landslides in Wayanad and Idukki which were triggered by the heavy rains and eventually cut off hilly districts.
Was this the first major flood in Kerala?
Before 2018, Kerala witnessed unprecedented flooding in 1924 when heavy loss to life, property and crops was reported. This was followed by unusual precipitation in 1961 when rains were heavy not only in duration, but also in the intensity of precipitation.
The worst affected area was Periyar sub-basin and it also impacted other sub-basins. Many of the important infrastructures like highways etc were submerged. After a brief interval, by the middle of July, the monsoon became more violent, affecting the northern parts of the State. The average rainfall was 56 per cent above normal, said a report published by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
What were the reasons for the tragedy?
The biggest contributor was the abnormally high rainfall from June 1, 2018, to August 19, 2018. The flood situation was aggravated by the Perigean spring tide, which is a high tide occurring 3-4 times in a year, from August 11-15, 2018, which led to abnormally high sea levels, further hampering river outflow to the sea.
Apart from this, the role of dams in causing floods was also under question as several independent researchers claimed that dams compounded the disastrous effects as they were full to the brim and there was no alternative except releasing the water.
As per the disaster management institute, the overflowing Periyar, Bharathapuzha, Pamba, Manimala, Meenachil, Achenkovil, Chalakudy and Kabini rivers exacerbated the damage. To add to this, unplanned and unchecked urbanisation blocked the natural flow of water bodies and added to the tragedy.
