Alappuzha: Karunakaran, 76, is among the lakhs of people displaced by the ravaging funds that swallowed that state of Kerala.
Even as the septuagenarian tries to adjust to the life at a relief camp he is eagerly awaiting news of his family.
All that the old man carried with him while he was shipped to safety was a piece of paper on which was scribbled his son's phone number.
His family had gone to Chengannur on Friday and have not been heard from since. Chengannur was one of the worst affected regions where waters surged up over 10 feet at several places.
Swam to safety
Karunakaran's house at Ponga, Kuttanad, was fully submerged in the rain and he swam across the surging floodwaters to reach Champakulam.
Rescuers located him there and took him to a relief camp at the Thiruvambadi Higher Secondary School, near Alappuzha town.
His son Biju had taken the family to a relative's place in Chengannur after the flood situation in Kuttanad worsened.
Karunakaran stayed back while his wife Leela, son, daughter-in-law Anila, and grandchildren; five-year-old Amrita and eight-month-old Aiswarya left with Biju.
Clueless about his kith and kin
Clueless about the fate of his family members and his kin at Chengannur, Karunakaran has been trying in vain to contact Biju and other relatives on phone.
Though Kuttanad, situated below the sea level, is buffeted by floods every year, this is the first time ever that Chengannur has been submerged.
At Chengannur, the waters drowned two-storeyed buildings after its plains were submerged by the swelling waters of the Pampa and Achankovil rivers.
