Thousands of residents from districts of central and northern Kerala were evacuated on Thursday. (file)
Thiruvananthapuram:
After several days of incessant rains, the southern districts of Kerala got some respite on Friday as the rain stopped, while the Meteorological Department issued an orange alert for the day to eight districts in the northern part of Kerala.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued an orange alert indicating isolated heavy rainfall for Idukki, Thrissur, Palakkad, Malappuram, Kozhikode, Wayanad, Kannur and Kasaragod districts of Kerala.
Meanwhile, Kerala Water Resources Minister Roshi Augustine told the media that three shutters of Mullaperiyar reservoir would be opened at 11:30 am today to release excess water.
Revenue Minister K Rajan said the water level of Chalakudy river in Thrissur remained the same as on Thursday and remained above 7.27 meters for the last few hours.
He said there was relief as the Nelliyampathy area did not receive as much rain as was expected.
K Rajan told the media, “IMD has predicted that the rain will now move to southern Karnataka. Today, a rain warning has been given in the northern districts of Kerala. Yesterday, Idukki district received the highest rainfall.”
The Revenue Minister also said that the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) team which had reached Idukki district was ready near Mullaperiyar area.
K Rajan said, “Yesterday, Kerala received rainfall in the range of 4-11 cm and this was the recent record.”
Roshi Augustine said that three shutters of Mullaperiyar reservoir would be opened every 30 cm and 534 cusecs of water would be released. He asked the people living on the banks of Periyar to be alert.
Thousands of residents of central and northern Kerala districts were evacuated on Thursday after flood waters in various rivers increased due to monsoon rains, prompting authorities to open shutters of dams to manage water levels in reservoirs.
The Kerala State Disaster Management Authority (KSDMA) had said that at least 19 people have died in heavy rains and floods in the state since July 31. This has caused damage to 32 properties completely and 232 partially.
In view of the rains, a holiday has been declared in schools and educational institutions in various districts of the state.
Red alert indicates heavy to very heavy rain of more than 20 cm in 24 hours, while orange alert means very heavy rain of 6 cm to 20 cm. Yellow alert means heavy rain between 6 to 11 cms.
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