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IMD issues red alert in Kerala, heavy rainfall continues in Tamil Nadu
The Kerala police said three persons killed in rain related incidents on Sunday. A minor landslip claimed the life of a truck driver at Kalamassery in Ernakulam district. And two children swept away in gushing waters in Kannur and Thrissur districts.
The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) on Sunday declared a red alert in three Kerala districts, and an orange alert in six other districts after heavy rains lashed various parts of the state, along with neighbouring Tamil Nadu, where southern districts received over 220m rainfall in the last couple of days.
The IMD sounded a red alert in Idukki, Ernakulam and Thrissur, and orange alert in Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Pathanamthitta, Alapzuha, Kottayam.
The Kerala police said three persons killed in rain related incidents on Sunday. A minor landslip claimed the life of a truck driver at Kalamassery in Ernakulam district. And two children swept away in gushing waters in Kannur and Thrissur districts.
For the first time in Kerala, shutters of the dam opened twice a year. On October 19, the Idukki dam opened after the district received 700mmrainfall, triggering flash floods and landslides that claimed 42lives. On Sunday, the water level rose to 2,938 feet out of the total 2,403 feet capacity, forcing authorities to open one shutter. The shutters of the dam have been opened only five times since its inception 45 years ago.
“We have opened just one shutter for 40 cm now, and 40,000 litres of water is getting released. We are monitoring the situation, and if the need is, more shutters will be opened,” said state water resources minister Roshy Augustine, who is camping in the district. More than 200 relief camps were opened in the two worst-affected districts, Pathanamthitta and Idukki on Sunday.
Tamil Nadu also informed the state that if the situation continued to be like this, spillways of Mullaperiyar dam, which is controlled by the former, will also be opened. On Sunday, the water level in Mullaperiyar crossed 140 feet and has a total capacity of 142 feet.
Kerala has also been put on high alert as many dams are filled to the brim, following which chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan called an emergency meeting later in the evening. Some areas in Idukki and Pathanamthitta districts received around 220 mm of rainfall in the last two days. People living near water bodies have been asked to keep vigil.
The usual rainfall in the north-east monsoon in Kerala is 492 mm between October 1 and December 31, but this time, between October 1 and November 6, the state received 716 mm rainfall against the expected fall of 387. 9mm, IMD statistics show. Going by the present pattern, rainfall will be at least 200 per cent higher than the usual rate by the end of December. The IMD attributed heavy rains to a low-pressure brewing near the southern Andaman sea, and it is likely to intensify in the next 48 hours.
“We can’t ignore signals of climate change. Changing rain pattern is one of them. We have to expect the unexpected in such scenarios. We have to strengthen our early warning system and need more studies to lessen the impact of such changes. We desperately need more studies on climate change,” said Dr M G Manoj of the Advanced Centre for Atmospheric Radar Research with the Cochin University of Science and Technology.
In Tamil Nadu, Chennai and adjacent districts received two heavy spells last week that crippled the region, and after an initial respite, heavy rains lashed southern districts of Kanyakumari, Tirunelveli and Thoothukudi on Sunday, causing severe flooding.
Two areas in the Kanyakumari district recorded 220 mm of rainfall, said the Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC). As many as 3,278 people were moved to relief camps in the district. The southern railways cancelled four trains and partially cancelled 11 trains as heavy rainfall impacted the railway traffic between Kanyakumari and Thiruvananthapuram. A change in train timings was also announced.
Tamil Nadu has received excess rainfall this northeast monsoon. Overnight between November 6 and 7, Chennai recorded 210 mm of rains, and on November 12 the average rainfall was 60.6 mm. From November 7 to 12, Tamil Nadu recorded 110 mm rainfall, S Balachandran, head, RMC Chennai, told reporters on Friday.
“Chennai has recorded 46cm rainfall which is five times the average we receive during this period which is 8cm.” From October 1, when the northeast monsoon began up to November 12, Chennai has received 81 cm rainfall while the average is 44 cm.” This is 85% excess,” the RMC head had said.
