Pathanamthitta, Alappuzha, Kottayam, Ernakulam, Thrissur, Palakkad, Malappuram, Kozhikode, Wayanad, Kannur, and Kasaragod are on orange alert.
File photo of rain in Kerala. (Creative Commons)
Torrential rains continued to batter Kerala on Wednesday, 5 July, causing widespread damage across the state.
The intense southwest monsoon prompted the India Meteorological Department (IMD) to issue a red alert for the Idukki district.
The IMD is expecting the district to receive extremely heavy rainfall exceeding 204.44 mm in the next 24 hours.
The waterlogged KSRTC bus terminal at Kochi. (The South First)
An orange alert has been sounded in 11 districts: Pathanamthitta, Alappuzha, Kottayam, Ernakulam, Thrissur, Palakkad, Malappuram, Kozhikode, Wayanad, Kannur and Kasaragod.
The Thiruvananthapuram and Kollam districts are under yellow alert.
A holiday has been declared for all educational institutions in six districts. Normal life was affected in several places as roads got flooded. Several houses were damaged by uprooted trees.
The Central Water Commission said that the water levels at the Kallooppara and Pullakkayar stations on the River Manimala, the Madaman station on the River Pampa, the Thumpamon station on the River Achankoil, and Kindagoor on the River Meenachil were above the danger mark.
People living in riparian areas have been advised to stay alert since the rains are likely to continue.
The number of lives lost due to the rains rose to five after a man was caught under an autorickshaw that overturned into a swollen stream in Pathanamthitta.
At Nilambur in Malappuram, five members of a family were swept away by the strong currents of the River Amaramblam. While three of them swam to safety, an elderly woman and her grandchild were still missing.
The family was on a visit to the Amarambalam temple when the mishap occurred.
The missing people have been identified as Suseela (60) and Anushree (12). Fire and rescue personnel were at the scene, searching for the missing duo.
A search that was launched on Tuesday, 4 July, was still continuing for a 68-year-old man who went missing in an overflowing river at Thamarassery in the Kozhikode district.
On Wednesday morning, a 134-year-old CSI Church that was undergoing renovation in Thiruvalla collapsed in the heavy rain and amid strong winds.
The rains also damaged homes in various parts of the state, leading to people being displaced and relocated to relief camps.
In Kannur, a 30-metre section of a security wall of the Central Jail collapsed in the early hours of Wednesday.
The rising water levels prompted the authorities to open the shutters of a few dams.
In Idukki, a few shutters of the Kallarkutty and Pambla dams were opened around 12.30 am on Wednesday to release 300 cumecs and 500 cumecs of water, respectively. The shutters were opened after the water levels reached the danger mark.
Those living on the banks of the Periyar and Muthirapuzha rivers have been advised to remain alert and be prepared to shift to relief camps in case water entered their homes.
All shutters of the Kavanakkallu Regulator-cum-Bridge (RCB) across the River Chaliyar in the Malappuram district were opened.
The shutters of the Karikkayam and Ullunkal dams across River Kakkad and the Maniyar dam on the Kakkattar River in the Pathanamthitta district were also opened to discharge 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. Minister for Revenue K Rajan chaired the meeting.
Subsequently, in a Facebook post, Rajan urged people to be careful but said there was no need to panic.
On Monday, an 11-year-old girl from the Kasaragod district died after a tree fell on her head.
Following the incident, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan advised people to be vigilant and asked them to avoid getting close to rivers, travelling to hilly areas, and taking trips to beaches.
Vijayan also said on his official Facebook page that a state emergency operation centre had been formed and sought officials to ensure that district and taluk level emergency centres functioned round the clock.
He also announced that seven teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) have been deployed in the Idukki, Pathanamthitta, Malappuram, Wayanad, Kozhikode, Alappuzha, and Thrissur districts.
In case of any emergencies, the public has been informed to contact the district helpline numbers.
They are:
“Due to the influence of the cyclone in the Bay of Bengal, the speed of the wind has intensified,” Abhilash S, associate professor at the Department of Atmospheric Sciences in the Cochin University of Science and Technology (CUSAT), told South First.
“The wind speed and the off-shore trough between the Kerala and Gujarat coasts are the two major reasons for the intensified rain in the state,” he added.
“This has led the monsoon to its active stage and its effect will remain for a few days,” he explained.
Abhilash said similar spells of rain were common every monsoon season, like a cycle, and it could be expected at least three times a season, any time between June and September.
“We are expecting the current spell to last till 7 July, the peak time is likely between 3-5 July,” he added.
(With PTI inputs)
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