IMD has issued a red alert for Pathanamthitta, Alappuzha, Kottayam, Ernakulam, Idukki, Thrissur, Palakkad and Kannur districts.
Published Aug 04, 2022 | 2:50 PM ⚊ Updated Aug 04, 2022 | 2:53 PM
Rescue workers removing landslide rubble in Kerala's Kannur district. (South First)
With the fourth shutter of the Peringalkuthu Irrigation Dam in Thrissur district being opened following incessant rains, people living close to the Chalakudy river in central Kerala have been asked to move to safer places.
Thrissur District Collector Haritha V Kumar directed officials to shift all families living in lower and flood-prone areas near the Chalakudy river to safe zones.
According to an official communique of the district collector, the sluice gates of Parambikulam Dam built on the Chalakudy river will be opened on the evening of Thursday, 4 July, as the water level had crossed the danger mark.
Meanwhile, the death toll since the current spell of heavy rains began on 31 July rose to 18 in the state after a 12-year-old boy’s body was retrieved from a rivulet in Palakkad on Thursday morning.
A total of 51,68 people have been shifted to 178 relief camps across the state.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a red alert for Pathanamthitta, Alappuzha, Kottayam, Ernakulam, Idukki, Thrissur, Palakkad and Kannur districts, and an orange alert for Malappuram, Wayanad, Kasaragod, Kozhikode and Kollam.
Revenue Minister K Rajan checking quality of the food at a relief camp in Pathanamthitta. Photo by K B Jayachandran.
State capital Thiruvananthapuram remains under yellow alert. The weather office has predicted heavy to very heavy rainfalls over the state till Sunday due to the prevalence of a cyclonic circulation over the central-west Bay of Bengal, near southern Andhra Pradesh and northern Tamil Nadu.
The district collectors of Alappuzha, Kottayam, Pathanamthitta, Idukki, Ernakulam and Thrissur have declared a holiday for all educational institutions.
Traffic was paralysed at the Vagamon-Erattupetta state highway due to a landslide near Vagamon.
According to reports, landslides disrupted traffic also on Moozhiyar-Gavi road in Pathanamthitta district’s Aranamudi.
