Face of Nation : At least 23 people have been killed due to incessant rains in Kerala, reminiscent of the 2018 deluge that had brought the state to a standstill. Flight operations at Cochin International Airport in Kerala have been stopped till 3 pm on Sunday, August 11 due to the heavy downpour.
Water level in Periyar River and a canal near the Kochi airport is on the rise. A red alert has been issued in four districts of Kerala including Wayanad, Idukki, Malappuram and Kozhikode. Pinarayi Vijayan-led Kerala government has declared a holiday for schools across the state and university examinations have been postponed in the affected areas.
Kerala State Disaster Management Authority (KDSMA) is on alert and has evacuated 22,165 people and shifted them to 315 camps across the state in view of the heavy rains. Kerala State Disaster Management Authority on its Twitter, has issued special advisories on floods in Kerala.
According to the advisory, India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecasted extremely heavy rainfall in Kerala, Coastal and South Interior Karnataka on August 9 and August 10. The weather department has in its forecast has also predicted very heavy rain in Tamil Nadu on August 9.
The advisory issued by the Central Government said, “Extremely heavy rains have been witnessed in North Kerala in the districts of Kasargod, Kannur Kozhikode, Palakkad, Trichur, Ernakulam, Idukki, Kottayam and Pattanamthitta districts. Due to this continuing rainfall there is possibility of above normal to severe floods in the above districts.” It also said that river Kuttaydi at Kuttayadi in Kozhikod district is flowing in extreme flood situation and has crossed the HFL created in 2018.
The advisory also mentioned that the Idukki dam on river Periyar in Idukki district and Idamalayar dam on river Idamalayar in Ernakulam district are getting inflows. “Since the dam levels at these reservoirs are very less, no immediate threat of flood due to dam releases will be seen. However, the situation has to be watched very closely by the project authorities,” it said.
Due to the ongoing extremely heavy rainfall in the districts of Kodagu, Hassan, Chikmagaluru in Karnataka and Wynad District in Kerala, water level in the rivers Cauvery, Harangi, Hemavathi and Kabini are increasing rapidly, the advisory read.
