With the water level at Idukki reservoir, Asia’s highest arch dam, rapidly drawing close to the danger mark of 2,403 feet, (the water level at 11pm on Thursday was 2400.28 feet), the government on Thursday thought prudent to open one of the five shutters of the connected Cheruthoni dam by 50 cms. Even with just one shutter opened partially, 50,000 litres of water were discharged in one second, indicating the kind of unpredictable impact the release of all five shutters would have on heavily populated towns, villages and even big cities downstream. Authorities have issued an alert saying that on Friday, 7am onwards, the water discharge rate will be doubled to 1lakh litres per second.
23 dead in 24 hours as flash floods hit Kerala
Twenty-three people were killed in flashfloods and landslides caused by incessant torrential rain across Kerala in the last 24 hours. Four people are missing. The army and air force joined rescue operations in Idukki and Wayanad.
Idukki, parts of northern Kerala and Palakkad district bore the brunt of the floods, and landslides were reported from Wayanad, Malappuram and Idukki districts.
24-hour control rooms in all districts
Kuttanad, which lies below sea level and is known as the rice bowl of Kerala, was inundated following the opening of shutters of Kakki dam in Pathanamthitta district. With Pamba river in spate, the water level in the scenic Alappuzha-Kottayam backwaters too has risen.
As many as 11 deaths were reported from Idukki, six from Malappuram, three in Ernakulam, two in Kozhikode and one from Wayanad. Four persons are reported missing from different parts of the state. The government has opened round-the-clock control rooms in all districts. The ‘1077’ hotline is active in all floodaffected districts.
Responding to the state government’s request, the army and air force joined rescue operations in Idukki and Wayanad. A defence spokesperson said more forces are on standby at Pangode, Kannur and Sullur airbases for assistance if the situation worsens. A seven-member central delegation headed by A V Dharma Reddy, joint secretary, ministry of home affairs, is in the state to assess the extent of damage caused by floods. CM Pinarayi Vijayan and revenue minister E Chandrasekharan held discussions with the central delegation and sought more time to prepare a detailed estimate of the damage.
from Times of India https://ift.tt/2vzGwZz
