WhatsApp audio about Kerala aid is misleading

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A WhatsApp audio clip that went viral on August 19th 2018 claimed the flood victims of Kerala are well to do rich and middle class people who do not need aid or money. The clip also advised people not to donate money towards the government fund. Verify.Wiki crowd-sourced research revealed the following facts.

  • Although Kerala is a relatively rich state compared to other Indian states, head of households of 70% of the population make only INR5,000 or less. [1] The income inequality in Kerala is high. Verify.Wiki estimates almost 70% of the population who might have been impacted by the floods to be poor, with no insurance coverage.
  • In comparison, according to insurance claims, the 2015 Chennai floods cost INR21,000 crores. Up until the audio clip was released, the government pledge for the Kerala floods was only INR 600 crores. Some government estimates point to a loss of more than INR 19,000 crores. [2] [3]

REFERENCES

  1. https://gulfnews.com/news/asia/india/kerala-income-inequality-revealed-in-census-data-1.1545133
  2. http://floodlist.com/asia/cost-tamil-nadu-floods-347-lives-3-billion-dollars
  3. https://www.ft.com/content/4e3a74da-a36d-11e8-8ecf-a7ae1beff35b

Verification history