Heavy rain batters Kerala; rivers in spate, key roads submerged

With heavy rains lashing various parts of Kerala since Saturday night, water level has reached the red alert level in various dams in the state, flooding several roads by Sunday morning.

The weather department said the situation is expected to continue, especially in the southern parts of the state, for the next two days.

The Idukki district administration said that according to the Tamil Nadu government, the water level in the Mullaperiyar dam reached 140 feet on Sunday morning.

As a result, people living on both sides of the Periyar should be extra vigilant as the shutters of the dam could be opened in the next 24 hours if the water level rises further and there was a possibility that excess water would overflow, it said.

The district administration of Pathanamthitta, which too received heavy rainfall, has advised extreme caution, especially by those living close to river banks or landslide-prone areas.

It advised moving people in landslide and flood-prone areas to relief camps.
Visuals on news channels showed submerged roads in various parts of Pathanamthitta and Kollam districts, where an orange alert has been declared.

Kottayam district also received good rainfall since morning, but no untoward incidents were reported from there.

Incessant rains caused minor landslips and disruption of train services in some parts of Kerala on Saturday, prompting authorities to sound extreme caution in hilly areas, river sides and tourist centres.

The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) had on Saturday predicted extremely heavy rains in Thiruvananthapuram while an orange alert, warning of very heavy rainfall was issued for Kollam, Pathanamthitta, Alappuzha, Kottayam and Idukki districts.

Thunderstorms coupled with lightning are also very likely to occur at one or two places in the state till November 16, according to IMD.

A Red alert indicates heavy to extremely heavy rains of over 20 cm in 24 hours, while Orange alert denotes very heavy rains from 6 cm to 20 cm of rains. A yellow alert means heavy rainfall between 6 to 11 cm.

(With Agency inputs)