Thiruvananthapuram: Since the evening of July 4, Kerala has had nonstop, severe rain, which has resulted in one death and halted life in many other places due to flooded roads, rising water levels in rivers and dams, and homes being destroyed by uprooted trees.
The Orange alert was sounded in 12 of the state's 14 districts for the day as the heavy rains persisted on Wednesday as well.
The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) issued an Orange alert for all districts of Kerala except Kollam and Thiruvananthapuram for the day.
According to the IMD forecast at 10 AM, the intensity of the rains is likely to go down in the next few days.
However, the heavy rainfall since Tuesday night caused widespread damage in the state and led to loss of life when an autorickshaw overturned into a stream swollen with rainwater in Pathanamthitta district and the victim could not escape from underneath the vehicle.
Another person, a 68-year-old man, was swept away in an overflowing river in Thamarassery taluk of Kozhikode district on Tuesday and the fire force and other rescue personnel are yet to find him.
The rains also caused damage to homes in various parts of the state leading to people being displaced and relocated to relief camps.
In Kannur, a 30-meter section of a security wall of the central jail there collapsed early this morning.
The heavy rains also led to the closure of schools, especially those designated as relief camps, colleges and educational institutions in various districts today.
As the levels rose in various rivers in the state, it led to a rise in water in several dams and prompted authorities to open their shutters in stages to release water downstream.
In Idukki, a few shutters of the Kallarkutty and Pambla dams were opened from 12.30 AM onwards to release 300 cumecs and 500 cumecs of water, respectively, after the water in the two dams reached the Red alert levels.
The district administration advised those living on the shores of the Periyar and Muthirapuzha rivers to be cautious and be ready to relocate to relief camps in case of the water entering their homes.
All shutters of the Kavanakkallu Regulator-cum-Bridge (RCB) across the river Chaliyar in the Malappuram district were also opened.
Shutters of Karikkayam and Ullunkal dams across rivers Kakkad and Maniyar dam on the Kakkattar river in Pathanamthitta district were also opened this morning to release several hundred cumecs of water.
On Tuesday, in view of heavy rains continuing in the state, a high-level meeting of revenue officials, including district collectors, was held to review the situation.
Subsequently, in a Facebook post, Revenue Minister K Rajan urged people to be very careful but said there was no need to panic.
As heavy rains lashed the southern state on Monday, leading to the death of a girl, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan advised people to be vigilant and avoid getting close to rivers, travel to hilly areas, and trips to the beach.
A red alert indicates heavy to extremely heavy rains of over 20 cm in 24 hours, while an orange alert means very heavy rains of 6 cm to 20 cm of rain.
With PTI inputs