Incessant rains: Ker govt. cautions against spread of contagious diseases

Thiruvananthapuram: After days of incessant rains, the southern districts in Kerala on Friday got some respite as rains subsided while the Met department has issued an Orange alert to eight districts in the northern part of Kerala for the day.

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, Minister for Water Resources in Kerala Roshy Augustine told the media that the three shutters of Mullaperiyar reservoir will be opened at 11.30 AM today to release the excess water.

Revenue Minister K Rajan said the water level at the Chalakudy river in Thrissur continued to be the same as on Thursday and maintained over 7.27 metres for the past few hours.

He said there was relief as it did not rain as much as expected in the Nelliyampathy region.

"The IMD has predicted that the rains will now move to southern Karnataka. Today, the rain alerts are in northern districts of Kerala. Yesterday, Idukki district received the most rain," Rajan told the media.

The revenue minister also said that the NDRF team which had reached the Idukki district was ready near the Mullaperiyar region.

"Yesterday, Kerala received rainfall between 4-11 cm and it was a recent record," Rajan said.

Augustine said the three shutters of Mullaperiyar reservoir will be opened by 30 cm each and 534 cusecs of water will be released. He asked those residing along the banks of Periyar to remain cautious.

Thousands of residents in central and north Kerala districts were evacuated on Thursday after monsoon rains caused floodwater to rise in various rivers, forcing authorities to open shutters of dams to manage water level in reservoirs.

At least 19 people have died in the heavy rains and flooding in the state since July 31. It also caused damage to 32 properties completely and 232 partially, the Kerala State Disaster Management Authority (KSDMA) had said.

A holiday has been declared for schools and educational institutions in various districts of the state in view of the rains.

A red alert indicates heavy to extremely heavy rains of over 20 cm in 24 hours, while orange alert means very heavy rains of 6 cm to 20 cm. A yellow alert means heavy rainfall between 6 and 11 cm.