Kerala rains: Many too afraid to return home

Idukki: "We are frightened to return to our homes," said women lodged in a relief camp here after they were forced to leave their houses, which faced the threat of flooding by gushing waters released from Idukki reservoir. Most of those in the relief camp had to rush out of their houses with only the clothes they were wearing, they said.

Muddy homes, wells brimming with dirty water, clogged toilets, snakes and other reptiles crawling inside their houses was giving them sleepless nights, they added. Nearly 400 flood-affected people, including 85 children from Keerithod in Kanjikuzhy panchayat near Cheruthoni are in the camp for the past two days as a precautionary measure after water was released from Idukki dam.

Eight villages have been affected due to the release of water from the dam and nearly 1,000 people have been shifted to 20 relief camps, official sources said. All five shutters of Cheruthoni dam, part of Idukki reservoir, were opened yesterday after incessant heavy rains increased the water level in the reservoir.

This is for the first time in history that all the gates of the dam were opened, underlying the gravity of the situation. "We had to rush out with few belongings. We do not know what has happened to our homes," a woman said adding people coming from the area told them that water was flowing like "giant sea waves" in front of our homes. "We are scared to return to our homes," she said.