Thiruvananthapuram: The southwest monsoon continued to wreak havoc in the state claiming 22 lives during the past 24 hours even as Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan described the situation as “extremely grave.”
According to reports reaching state headquarters here, landslides and heavy rains killed 11 people in Idukki, five in Malappuram, three in Wayanad, two in Kannur and one in Kozhikode.
Out of 22 dead, five members belonged to a family each in Idukki and Malappuram.
Two were reported missing in Idukki and one each in Palakkad and Malappuram.
The shutters of Cheruthony dam, part of the Idukki dam project, were opened as water level reached 2,398.99, but it continued to rise. The storage level at Idukki was 2004.20 ft at 10 pm. It can go up to a maximum level of 2008.5 ft.
From 50 cubic metres per second, the discharge from Cherthony would be raised to 100 cubic metres per second at 7 am on Friday.
The intensity of heavy rains could be gauged from the fact that the shutters of 24 dams where the water level had reached maximum storage level during the past 24 hours were raised. Four dams each in Idukki, Thrissur and five in Palakkad were opened. It’s perhaps for the first time in the state that the shutters of so many dams have been opened together. Mr Vijayan convened a high-level meeting at the secretariat to review the rain situation. Briefing media after the meeting, the Chief Minister said the rainfall this monsoon had occurred in the state like never before. “The heavy rains are continuing and gaining strength which is a cause of serious concern,” he said.
Drinking water was in short supply in affected areas. Teams of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) are deployed in Alappuzha, Ernakulam and Kozhikode districts.
Heavy equipment required for the Army in the affected areas was being flown in from Bengaluru.
The situation is worsening with the weathermen predicting heavy to very heavy rainfall in many districts.
People of Kuttanad are keeping their fingers crossed following the opening of shutters of Kakki dam in Pathanamthitta whose FRL is 981.45 ft.
Since the water from Kakki dam flows into Kuttanad, the possibility of the low lying areas getting flooded cannot be ruled out.
The chief minister directed the revenue authorities to involve local bodies’ representatives and other elected representatives in relief and rescue operations besides mass contact programmes to allay fears of the people.
He urged the people to stay away from reservoirs and dams to avoid mishaps. There are reports that people are thronging the dams whose shutters are being opened to click photographs and capture video.
Only those who have been deployed by government agencies and defence authorities would be allowed to go near the dams and reservoirs.
The presence of onlookers in these sensitive areas could even hamper the functioning of officials besides resulting in accidents.
The tourists who are already present in these areas should maintain vigil and follow the instructions of local authorities. The karkidaka vavu bali ritual is happening in many parts of the state on Saturday.
Most of the areas where vavu bali has to be offered have been flooded because of heavy rains. Those taking part in the ritual should maintain maximum vigil and cooperate with the instructions being issued by the district administration to avoid accidents.
The police department has been directed to provide adequate security for the devotees performing vavu bali ritual .
The all-party meeting decided that the minister in charge of districts should camp in their respective areas and coordinate the rescue and relief operations.
Police, fire force, irrigation, KSEB and the revenue department will coordinate their activities and work in close association with the local MLAs.
The NGOs and other voluntary organisations have been urged to cooperate with the activities of the government agencies.
Met predicts 2 more days of heavy rain
With the Met department predicting heavy to very heavy rainfall in many districts during the next 24 hours, the state government has put all departments on high alert to deal with the situation. The Met department predicted rains in Palakkad, Malappuram, Kozhikode, Wayanad and Kannur during the next two days.
Since all these districts are already affected badly because of the heavy rains, the situation is likely to worsen.
With water level in almost all dams in these districts rising, the government has directed NDRF and other agencies from the defence services to monitor the situation closely and be on standby for rescue and relief operations.
Met officials say the rainfall is expected to subside for day but on August 13 at least 10 districts are expected to receive heavy rainfall.
