As incessant rains continue to lash Kerala with reports of landslides and rising river water levels in some parts of the state, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued a red warning in 10 districts of the southern state for Tuesday. IMD also issued a Red alert in the same 10 districts for August 3 also. The red warning is issued in all the districts of the state barring Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Pathanamthitta and Kasaragod, where Orange alerts have been issued for August 2 and 3, according to an IMD district rainfall forecast issued for Kerala at 10 AM on Tuesday. The department also warned of widespread and isolated heavy and very heavy rainfall in the state till August 5.
Twelve people have died in rain related incidents.
A two-year-old child was washed away in gushing waters in Kannur’s Nedumpuramchal region. The incident took place as residents were evacuating the area on Monday, August 1, after four landslides were reported from surrounding places.
Tourists including foreigners who were trapped in the Elephant Pass resort located in Kodanad of Ernakulam district were rescued.
Educational institutions in Kozhikode district will remain closed on August 3.
77 relief camps have been started in the state and around 500 people have been moved already.
Red alert in seven dams in Kerala- Lower Periyar, Ponmudy, Erattayar, Kundala, Peringalkuthu and Moozhiyar.
Five rivers in the state are in spate- Pamba, Neyyar, Karamana, Manimalayar and Meenachal. Flood warnings have been given in Manimalayar, Neyyar and Karamana rivers.
Fishing has been banned on all coasts and people living in landslide prone areas have been asked to move out when asked.
Equinoct, a climate tech startup, has written to state Chief Secretary and the State Disaster Management Authority requesting their immediate intervention in reservoir release scheduling to reduce the downstream impact. A similar situation had resulted in flooding of many areas in 2018. The letter urged the state government to convene an emergency meeting under the provisions of the Disaster Management Act 2005. Equinoct highlighted the need for constituting a river basin level emergency team to assess the real-time conditions and preparation of integrated hourly reservoir release schedules.