Pandanad in Kerala's Chengannur town could turn into the epicenter of the worst calamity to hit the state since it was formed. For the fourth day in a row, thousands of families in this central Kerala village are stranded on rooftops without food, water, medicine and electricity. Local fishermen on boats are battling rough waters to save as much as they can, but with the Pampa river still in spate, flowing with rapid ferocity, most of the areas in Pandanad village are still inaccessible for rescue workers. On Friday night, there was an SOS cry from one of the most unlikely sources Saji Cherian, the ruling party's MLA from Chengannur, broke down on prime time news on a regional channel, expressing his fear that thousands might lose their lives if helicopters do not airlift them to safety. Neither is the district administration equipped to deal with the situation, nor has it coordinated with the air force or navy, which is in operation in other areas. The district administration seems to have forgotten Padanad altogether and is now paying the price. Four deaths were confirmed in the region, and nearly 7,000 people were stranded when the reports last came in. Thomas Chacko, 65, and his family were perhaps the very few who made it out of Pandanad before it was too late. Now at a relative's house on higher ground, Chacko said he and his family of five could escape because his brother-in-law, who stays out of the village, had reached them in time with a country boat. «We were lucky to come out of it,« he said. «The water level was rising by the minute, and by the time we got out, it had reached the second floor of our house. We have no idea what happened to our neighbours.«