Kerala on high alert after floods kill 34
- by Ken Ortega
- in Worldwide
- — Aug 11, 2018
Many areas like Ganesh Nagar have been affected, especially low-lying areas in the district and the surrounding areas next to Kalpathy river.
Kochi: Landslides, flood triggered by incessant rain in most parts of Kerala has claimed 29 lives, left 54,000 homeless.
The government of Kerala, which has a population of 33 million people, has imposed a ban on the movement of lorries and tourist vehicles in Idukki.
Meanwhile, state Revenue minister E Chandrasekharan reviewed the flood situation and the precautionary measures to be taken in Aluva near Kochi airport and nearby areas in view of the possibility of increase in the water level following release of more water from Idukki reservoir. Idukki, Wayanad, Alappuzha, Kozhikode, Ernakulam and Malappuram districts have been affected by the rains. With water levels rising in various dams and reaching nearly maximum capacity, shutters of at least 22 reservoirs in the state have been opened to drain out excess water.
The southwest monsoon till August has given Kerala its heaviest rainfall since 2013, a top official of the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Friday. The relief and rescue ops are going on.
This is for the first time in the history that all the gates of the dam have been opened, underlying the gravity of the situation.
Earlier this morning, Vijayan, accompanied by Leader of Opposition Ramesh Chennithala, State Forest Minister P Raju, Chief Secretary Tom Jose and Kerala Police Chief Loknath Behra, took off in a helicopter from Thiruvananthapuram to survey the worst affected districts. At least 50 tourists, including 24 foreigners, stranded at the Plum Judy resort at Munnar since Wednesday, have been rescued, said state Tourism minister Kadakampally Surendran said. The KSDMA has issued an alert in the nearby areas and has asked people not to panic. "MHA is closely monitoring the flood situation", Singh tweeted.
More news: Manafort defense questions star witness Gates about 'secret life'"Water levels in rivers are on the rise.Thus, there is a need to open the shutters of many dams", the chief minister said.
Idukki: A number of women lodged in a relief camp here say they are frightened to return to their homes.
Those forced from their homes "have moved to 350 relief camps across the state", an official at the Kerala State Disaster Management control room told AFP.
The arrival operations were resumed from 3.05 pm this evening, a spokesperson of the airport said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke with the Chief Minister yesterday in the wake of heavy rains and floods in the state, and offered all possible assistance to those affected.
In Palakkad district, the flood waters started receding today as the quantity of water being released from Malampuzha dam was reduced. However, many areas are still inundated and people were seen trying to save their belongings.
