Kerala (The Stellar News): Six people have died as a result of Kerala’s heavy rains, and numerous houses have been destroyed in various districts. While detailing the efforts taken by the state administration to avoid any fatalities, CM Pinarayi Vijayan informed reporters that safety precautions have been taken after learning from previous mistakes, particularly the floods in 2015. In the rains, 55 houses have been partially damaged and 5 have been completely demolished. He added that one person is missing and six people died.
On seeing the gravity of the situation, the IMD issued red alerts for the districts of Thiruvananthpuram, Kollam, Pathanamithitta, Alappuzha, Kottayam, Ernakullam and Idduki. He also noted that red alerts have been issued in 11 districts for August 3 and 9 of them for August 4.
Thiruvananthpuram, Kollam, Pathanamithitta, Alappuzha, Kottayam, Ernakullam and Idduki may get over 200 mm of rainfall in 24 hours and there could be crisis if this continues for 4 days, the CM said
The CM announces that the Disaster Management Authority has established a State Emergency Operations Centre and that control room will be opened in each district and taluk.
The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has also deployed four teams in the districts of Idduki, Kozhikode, Wayanad, and Thrissur, and another four teams would soon come in the State and be deployed in the districts of Ernakulam, Kottayam, Kollam, and Malappuram, he added.He claimed that the State would be in a crisis if the recent heavy rains persisted, and water would be released from 17 dams to avert that.
Five Idduki dams- Ponmudi, Kundala, Kallarkutty, Erattayar, and Lower Periyar- have hit the red alert storage levels, according to the statistics the water levels of the dams are administrated by KSEB (Kerala State Electricity Board) on daily basis.
He claimed that the water level in the dams has been evaluated by the Dam Management Committee, which is headed by the Additional Chief Secretary, and that there was no reason for concern at present.
In view of these and in anticipation of potential disasters such as landslides, mountain floods, flash-floods, and water logging in cities and low-lying areas, preparations are required in areas where extremely heavy rainfall is expected and also in places adjoining them, he told reporters.
In connection with that, steps have been taken to immediately complete the work of shifting the people living in the landslide prone and flood-prone areas to safer places, he said. He said that State government has started necessary preparations to deal with the monsoon ravages well in advance in March this year by carrying out assessments, mock drills and holding meetings.
Report: Deepanjot Kaur (Under Training)
