IMD issues fresh alert in Kerala, two more dead

The IMD also issued an orange alert in Ernakulam, Idukki, Thrissur, Kozhikode, Kannur and Kasaragod, and a yellow alert in the remaining eight districts as two more people died in Thiruvananthapuram and Thrissur on Monday after they were swept away in gushing water, revenue officials said.

The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) on Monday issued a fresh alert in Kerala saying the heavy rains will continue for two more days. The IMD also issued an orange alert in Ernakulam, Idukki, Thrissur, Kozhikode, Kannur and Kasaragod, and a yellow alert in the remaining eight districts as two more people died in Thiruvananthapuram and Thrissur on Monday after they were swept away in gushing water, revenue officials said.

The State Disaster Management Authority informed that in the last 24 hours, Kollam, Kottayam, Thiruvananthapuram, Idukki and Thrissur were affected the most. (ANI)

On Sunday, three, including two children died due to landslides. Nine migrant workers had a miraculous escape after a building collapsed in Kozhikode on Monday. Alert locals and officials removed the debris immediately and saved them. Pathanamthitta and Idukki are the worst affected districts, and the state has opened more than 300 relief camps.

The State Disaster Management Authority informed that in the last 24 hours, Kollam, Kottayam, Thiruvananthapuram, Idukki and Thrissur were affected the most.

In rainfall-related incidents across the state, one house was fully damaged while 28 were partially damaged, SDMA said, adding that three lives, including that of two toddlers, were lost in the last 24 hours.

A cyclonic circulation lying over the south-eastern Arabian Sea is likely to trigger very heavy or heavy rainfall over the next two days in parts of Kerala, the IMD said.

State agriculture minister P Prasad said the state lost agriculture worth ₹400 crores in the last month. “We will approach the Union government for help,” he said in Alapzuha. Damage to houses, roads and bridges will be at least three times higher this amount, said a senior revenue official.

To add to the state’s mounting woes annual pilgrimage to hill temple Sabarimala also began on Monday. Though pilgrims’ numbers are restricted to 30,000 a day, damaged roads and bridges are a big worry, said officials. Pilgrims are also not allowed to take bath in the holy river Pambha. “We are monitoring the situation closely,” said the newly-elevated president of the Travancore Dewasom Board K Anandagopan. Meanwhile, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who is also the MP from the Wayanad constituency, asked the party workers to help rain-affected people. “Our brothers and sisters in Kerala are braving heavy rains. I appeal to Congress workers in help in every possible way,” he tweeted.

The state recorded the highest northeast monsoon, 833 mm rainfall, between October 1 and November 15. The previous record was 822.9 mm received in 2010 during the same period, IMD statistics show. The usual rainfall during the northeast monsoon in Kerala is 492 mm between October 1 and December 31, but the fall has already doubled, with one-and-a-half months to go for the relapse of the second monsoon spell.

The unusual rains have left a trail of death and destruction in the state. In the second week of October, 42 people died in flash floods and landslides. All dams and water bodies in the state are swollen, and shutters of the Idukki dam were opened on Sunday.

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