Kerala: Orange alert in 11 districts as heavy rains continue to wreak havoc

The weather office has sounded an Orange alert for Thiruvananthapuram, Pathanamthitta, Kottayam, Ernakulam, Idukki, Thrissur, Palakkad, Malappuram, Kozhikode, Wayanad and Kannur districts on October 20. An Orange alert has been issued for all districts other than Kannur and Kasaragod on October 21. 

This comes amid incessant rainfall in Kerala over the past few days.

A Red alert indicates heavy to extremely heavy rains of over 20 cm in 24 hours, while Orange alert denotes very heavy rains from 6 cm to 20 cm of rains. A yellow alert means heavy rainfall between 6 to 11 cm. 

Meanwhile, dam authorities in the state are taking cognizance of the situation arising out of the torrential rainfall. As a precautionary measure, water was released from the Idukki reservoir at 11 am today as Kerala’s largest reservoir, which accounts for over 93 per cent of its live storage capacity, is rapidly filling up after heavy rain. 

This is the second time in three years that water was released from the reservoir, the largest in the state and one of the highest arch dams in Asia.

Kerala was ravaged by heavy downpour and subsequent landslides. As per the State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA), the number of rain-related deaths in Kerala from October 12 to October 18 stood at 38. 

During the same period, at least 90 houses have been destroyed in the rains while 702 have been partially damaged. 

The search and rescue operations are underway. Apart from that, the dams in the state are on a brim with Red alert sounded for over ten major dams in the state. 

Idukki, Idamalayar, Pamba and Kakki, four major dams among the total 78 dams in the state have been opened to release the excess water. Several district administrations have issued alerts to the people living downstream and shifted them to relief camps set up in the state.

With agency inputs