Flood situation 'grave' in Kerala

Thiruvanthapuram: Torrential rains continue to lash across the state, causing floods, inundations, waterlogging, and landslip, throwing life out of gear, especially, in Southern Kerala.

Rains have claimed 27 lives so far leaving a trail of devastation in their wake.

Meanwhile, Indian Meteorological Department forecast heavy to very heavy rainfall in the next 48 hours in districts including Alappuzha, Ernakulam, Idukki, Palakkad, Malapuram, Kozhikode, Wayanad and Kannur.

In what many veterans termed as “never-before-seen” rains, water keeps gushing in dams nearly defying their capacity. In order to tackle the alarming situation, shutters of at least 22 reservoirs have been opened.

Of them, Idukki dam, the biggest in Asia, has water level lolling at 2400 feet, just three feet short of its full capacity. With the water level at the Idukki dam fast rising, two more shutters of the dam were also opened, said a Kerala Minister.

Four shutters of Idamalayar dam in Kochi district have been opened and people living on the flanks of Periyar River have been asked to be vigilant.

Several districts in the state have been receiving heavy rains since Wednesday.

Kerala Power Minister M.M. Mani who hails from Idukki, told the media here that the decision to open the two more shutters of the Idamalayar dam was taken to prevent the water level from reaching its full strength of 2,403 metres.

At 12.30 p.m. on Thursday, the water level crossed 2,399 metres, and one of the shutters was opened after a gap of 26 years.

"Despite that opening, there has been a steady inflow and currently the water level in the dam stands at 2,401 metres. Hence the decision to release more water was taken. This is not going to create any issues as we are soon planning to close down the shutters," said Mani.

In Thiruvananthapuram, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan held a review meeting with top officials. He termed the situation “extremely grave”. He also asked people to keep off from dams and reservoirs.

The CM also said that complete attention should now focus on rehabilitating people living in the low lying areas of Ernakulam district should it become necessary due to the water released from the Idukki dam.

Additionally, part of beefing up rescue and relief operations, the government has sought the assistance of Army, Air Force, Navy, Coast Guard, and the National Disaster Response Force. Army personnel are being deployed in the worst-affected districts including Idukki, Malapuaram, Wayanad, and Kozhikode.

The chief minister also said that people stranded in flooded areas of Wayanad and Malapuram would be air-lifted.

A round-the clock disaster monitoring cell, headed by principal secretary PH Kurien, is functioning at the Secretariat. District collectors are in charge of similar cells at district headquarters, reports say.

The Cochin International Airport, which on Thursday had stopped incoming flights for two hours, on Friday said the operations were normal and there was nothing to be worried about.

The annual Nehru Trophy boat race at Punnamada Lake in Alapuzha district, scheduled on August 11, has been postponed.