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PremiumOTHERS :Kerala today shut the Kochi airport till Saturday as rains returned to wreak more havoc in the state. At least 67 people were killed today, and thousands others were evacuated from the fresh Kerala floods. The state has opened 35 of its dams, a first in history, even as the Mullaperiyar Dam’s water levels remained a concern. Kerala was just limping back to normalcy after the worst floods since 1924 killed 39 over the last week. So far, more than 1 lakh people have been rescued in the state.The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has advised airlines to operate relief flights to flood affected Kerala and not to overprice air tickets.The day’s developments on the Kerala flood situation:
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has advised airlines to operate relief flights to flood affected Kerala and not to overprice air tickets. Airlines are “advised to ensure that airfares for flights to and from Trivandrum and Calicut airports in Kerala are kept at optimal level proportionate to sector distance so that travelling public is not inconvenienced,” a person familiar with the development said on condition of anonymity.
Indian Navy has deployed 21 rescue and diving teams with inflatable ‘Gemini’ boats as the flood situation further worsened across Kerala on Wednesday due to the heavy rains. “A total of four teams went out today to augment those already deployed. More than 81 people were rescued, many of whom were also provided food and shelter by setting up a rescue camp,” the Southern Naval Command said in a release. PTI
While Kerala is facing probably its worst floods in a century, Tamil Nadu engineers have said that their digital water level recorders in Mullaperiyar dam are now malfunctioning and hence they are unable to record water levels accurately in the dam.So they are measuring the same manually from ordinary gauge posts installed in the river, which Kerala said is prone to error, more so given the extreme weather and wind conditions at the dam site.The development is important since Kerala has often raised serious concerns on the safety of Mullaperiyar, one of India’s oldest dams dating back to the early 20th century. Earlier Supreme Court had stipulated 142ft as the safe maximum level for the dam. Tamil Nadu claims the dam touched 142ft on Wednesday following heavy rains, and raised all shutters. But the present development puts a doubt on whether the dam stored more water than safe.Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan called such events “inappropriate”, in a letter to Tamil Nadu chief minister E.K. Palanisamy on Wednesday, while asking his counterparts to intervene to bring down the water level to a safer 139 ft.
Civil aviation minister Suresh Prabhu says all airlines have been asked to reschedule their Kochi flights from Kerala’s two other airports at Kozhikode and Thiruvananthapuram.
We have asked all airlines, domestic and foreign, to reschedule their Cochin flights either from Trivandrum or from Calicut. For international flights, this will require special dispensation which has been granted considering the emergencyDGCA is coordinating.#KeralaFlood
— Suresh Prabhu (@sureshpprabhu) August 15, 2018
As the drinking water distribution system collapsed in several parts of Kerala due to the floods, CM Pinarayi Vijayan has asked people to minimize the use of water being distributed by the state water authority. Periyar, Chalakudy Puzha and Pampa rivers were overflowing in central Kerala, while the water level in Killiyar, Karamanayar, Vamanapuram rivers and Parvathyputhanar canal in Thiruvananthapuram district are steadily rising. Power supply and communication systems have been disrupted in various parts of the state. HT
The Kerala floods claimed 25 lives today, said CM Pinarayi Vijayan. Eleven deaths were reported from Malappuram alone, Hindustan Times quoted officials as saying. Vijayan said the heavy rains would continue for some more days, which will further worsen the situation.
Not just the Kochi airport, the city too came under water due to Kerala floods today.
“CM raised the issue of the water level in Mullaperiyar Dam, which has reached dangerous levels, with the Home Minister. The inflow of water to Mullaperiyar is now much more than the outflow.“In this situation, CM informed that Tamil Nadu has to intervene immediately to lower the water-level in Mullaperiyar dam. @HMOIndia discussed the matter with the Chief Secretary of Tamil Nadu.“CM Pinarayi Vijayan wrote to Tamil Nadu CM Edappadi K. Palaniswami demanding the lowering of water-level in Mullaperiyar dam. It must be done urgently in the interest of the security of the dam“There is heavy downpour in the catchment areas of the dam. To prevent the situation of a sudden release of water in large volumes, which will result in widespread damage, water levels must be lowered immediately,” tweeted Kerala CMO. HT
Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan has requested home minister Rajnath Singh to send additional teams of Army, NDRF and Army Engineering Corps to the State. In a tweet, the CMO’s office said a C-17 aircraft was also requested for transporting equipments to the affected areas. More dinghy boats were also needed. HT
The death toll in the Kerala floods has risen to 67, with at 18 deaths being reported today. A person died in a Munnar lodge collapse. A 70-year-old woman was electrocuted near Pathanamthitta as her house was submerged. Landslides claimed lives in Malappuram too. In Thiruvananthapuram district, a 70-year-old man died after the wall of his house collapsed. Two landslides occurred in Idukki late evening, killing five people. Four persons were reported missing in the landslips. HT
The Tamil Nadu government has agreed to draw more water from the Mullaperiyar Dam to reduce the water level to 139 feet from the current 142 feet. This, after the union ministry intervened in the matter. HT
Shashi Tharoor is a member of parliament from Thiruvananthapuram.
Visited a temporary relief shelter for people displaced by the flooding. This 80 year old lady (whose daughter insists she's 85!) says she has never seen so much rain in Thiruvananthapuram pic.twitter.com/t1pTAka5jc
— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) August 15, 2018
Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan has sent out a communique to Tamil Nadu counterpart Edapaddi K. Palaniswami demanding his intervention to reduce the water level of Mullaperiyar Dam to 139 feet. The water level in Mullaperiyar Dam has reached the brim at 142 feet. ANI
Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan tells union home minister Rajnath Singh that Tamil Nadu is not drawing enough water from the Mullaperiyar Dam. Tamil Nadu engineers camping at the dam site insist more water will destroy crops in the state. HT
PM Narendra Modi tweeted that he has spoken with CM Pinarayi Vijayan on the Kerala flood situation.
Had a detailed discussion with Kerala CM Shri Pinarayi Vijayan regarding the unfortunate flood situation in the state. Centre stands firmly with the people of Kerala and is ready to provide any assistance needed. @CMOKerala
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 15, 2018
Air India says on Thursday, 16 August, its Kochi-Sharjah-Kochi and Kochi-Bahrain-Kochi flights will operate to and from the Kozhikode airport. All other Kochi-bound Air India flights will operate from Thiruvananthapuram airport.Vistara says it will reroute its Kochi passengers to or from Chennai with no change fee or additional fare on space available basis, for those who wish to use this option. However, passengers will have to arrange their own road transport between Chennai and Kochi.
#9Wupdate #Kochi
— Jet Airways (@jetairways) August 15, 2018
To check your flight status follow: https://t.co/q3TCmCPN0Q pic.twitter.com/1DJyx1mbDL
The death toll in the Kochi floods has risen to 52 with 18 deaths being reported in one day. Lakhs still remained in rescue camps, which are also facing risk of being washed away. HT
The Kerala government will soon approach the civil aviation ministry asking whether small flights to the Kochi airport could land at the naval airport, an official statement said. It’d also seek permission to use the Kozhikode and Thiruvananthapuram airports instead of diverting the flights to Mumbai and other places.CM Pinarayi Vijayan has asked officials to make necessary arrangements to take passengers, who may be landing in Thiruvananthapuram and Kozhikode, to their respective places by state-run buses. PTI
Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan will hold a press conference at 7pm regarding the floods. It has also been decided that an army engineering group will be deployed to restore basic infrastructure in the state.
Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan spoke to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union home minister Rajnath Singh over the phone and asked for more security forces and equipments to aid the flood rescue operations. Both Modi and Singh have assured all help, as per a senior official.Vijayan also met Kerala governor P. Sathasivam and asked him to speak to the Tamil Nadu government on bringing down water levels at the Mullaperiyar Dam, otherwise it may be at risk—adding that the neighbour is not cooperating to this end. Vijayan has also sent a letter to Tamil Nadu chief minister Edapaddi K. Palaniswami on the matter. Nidheesh M.K./Mint
Four teams of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) have been airlifted from Pune airport to Kerala for flood rescue operations.They have full-wave rectified (FWR) equipment and communication equipment with them. ANI
A senior official with the Kerala State Disaster Management Authority, Sekhar Lukose Kuriakose, told Reuters the seasonal rains have killed more than 200 people in the state since May and displaced many. HT
Schools and colleges are closed tomorrow in eight districts, namely Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Alappuzha, Pathanamthitta, Thrissur, Kozhikode, Ernakulam and Kottayam. Nidheesh M.K./Mint
Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor has suggested MoS (civil aviation) Jayant Sinha to divert Kochi-bound international flights to Thiruvananthapuram instead of Mumbai as it is causing great discomfort to Keralites.
Spoke to @jayantsinha to express concern about Kochi-bound international flights being diverted to Mumbai, causing great inconvenience to Keralites travelling home. Suggested diverting them to Thiruvananthapuram instead. Other nearby airports still open, eg Kozhikode/ Coimbatore
— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) August 15, 2018
Kerala authorities are evacuating resorts in Thrissur and Alappuzha districts too. Houseboats told to keep off from waters. Nidheesh M.K./Mint
The India Meteorological Department has predicted very heavy rain at a few places with extremely heavy rain at isolated places over South Odisha, South Chhattisgarh, North Telangana, Coastal Karnataka and Kerala.Southern Karnataka, coastal Andhra Pradesh and isolated places in Vidarbha and Tamil Nadu are also likely to receive heavy to very heavy rainfall. PTI
Rescue operations are underway in flood-hit areas of Mysuru.
Mysore: Rescue operations underway in flood-hit areas in the city. #Karnataka pic.twitter.com/5sgLU8gTd7
— ANI (@ANI) August 15, 2018
Six people in a family of nine died after their house collapsed due to a landslide in Malappuram. Two are still missing while another has been rescued. An earlier update had said that four members in family of seven had died. With this development, Kerala floods’ death toll has risen to 18 people today, mostly due to landslides. Nidheesh M.K./Mint
Amid floods across Kerala, CM Pinarayi Vijayan tweeted that 35 reservoirs in the state are now releasing water, even as several districts of the state are facing floods. “A red alert has been issued for Ernakulam, Idukki, Palakkad, Malappuram, Kozhikode, Wayanad, Kannur, Kasargod, Thrissur, Kottayam, Alappuzha, and Pathanamthitta districts.”
Presently, 35 reservoirs in the State are releasing water. Many districts in the State are facing floods. Red alert has been issued for Ernakulam, Idukki, Palakkad, Malappuram, Kozhikode, Wayanad, Kannur, Kasargod, Thrissur, Kottayam, Alappuzha, and Pathanamthitta districts.
— CMO Kerala (@CMOKerala) August 15, 2018
Four more dead bodies have been discovered from a house of seven people at a landslide site in Malappuram, raising the death toll to 16 today, according to regional news channel Manorama News. One person was rescued from the site but the others are still missing, said the report. Nidheesh M.K./Mint
Locals of the flood-affected Baradi village in Karnataka’s Kodagu district unfurled the tricolour earlier today.
Karnataka: Locals of the flood affected Kodagu district's Baradi village unfurled the tricolour earlier today. #IndependenceDayIndia pic.twitter.com/TAOvogZjwO
— ANI (@ANI) August 15, 2018
Munnar city is fully flooded, says the defence wing of the Government of India in Thiruvananthapuram. The rescue operation task assigned to MEG column, under the leadership of Major Deepak Singh Takuri.A landslide was reported in Munnar on Tuesday night and local people suspect some people are buried under the debris. The army is clearing the debris and civil administration is already there. One rescue team under Sub Sahadevan from Madras Regiment is at Hotel Sarvana Bhavan in Munnar. The staff bedroom of the hotel crashed, causing one death and injuring five others. Nidheesh M.K./Mint
■ Total number of army personnel deployed as of today:(1) Madras Regiment: Total 150 personnel deployed at two places, Idukki (Munnar) and Aluva.(2) DSC Kannur: Four columns deployed at Iritti,Wayanad,Kozhikode and Malappuram.(3) Engineering Task Force: Three columns deployed, one each at Palakkad, Kozhikode and Idukki. One more column of ETF coming today from Pune. Expected to reach Air Force Station, Trivandrum, by 6pm today.(4) Pangode Military Station: One column at Idukki, 2 columns at Aluva and one column moved to Pathanamthitta. Nidheesh M.K./Mint
Karnataka chief minister H.D. Kumaraswamy has directed the district collectors of Kodagu, Dakshina Kannada, Hassan, Chikkamagaluru and Shivamogga districts to be on high alert in view of the heavy rainfall. He has also appealed to concerned district in-charge ministers to review situation in their districts.
The Kerala floods has forced the Pinarayi Vijayan government to open 33 of the 39 dams in the state. As many as 12 deaths have been reported since Tuesday night since the rains returned in full fury. HT
The Idukki dam has been reopened again because the Mullaperiyar dam, bordering Tamil Nadu, is overflowing at twice the rate since today morning.
Idukki, the hilltop district which attracts most tourists to Kerala, is on high vigil as the officials has increased discharge from its Cheruthoni dam. It is the second time in a week that the dam has been opened.The government, meanwhile, is evacuating tourists from the region. In Munnar, where the rains have washed away roads, resorts and other properties, about 60 stranded tourists were rescued by the state on Wednesday.The Idukki dam has been reopened again because the Mullaperiyar dam, bordering Tamil Nadu, is overflowing at twice the rate since today morning.“The state relief commissioner of Tamil Nadu has intimated the state may release water to Kerala side of Periyar from Mullaperiyar reservoir considering high inflow into the reservoir. Hence, the state executive committee of the KSDMA (Kerala State Disaster Management Authority) has decided to release more water from Cheruthoni Dam,” said a press statement from Kerala chief secretary Tom Jose.“People living close to Periyar banks in Ernakulam, Idukki and Thrissur should comply with the directions issued by district collectors of these districts and move to relief camps,” Jose added in the statement. Nidheesh M.K./Mint
■ Relief camps set up for those displaced by the Kerala floods have come under threat of the rising water levels. The Ernakulam camp alone houses 23,000 people.■ Several parts of the state are without power and drinking water for five days now. HT
The Indian Navy has started a relief camp in Aluva to coordinate rescue operations in the Kerala floods, which has left 47 dead and over a lakh displaced. HT
Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) has suspended its services from Bengaluru to Kerala’s Kannanur, Kozhikode and Kasaragod. PTI
Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) has cancelled its premium services between Bengaluru and Mangaluru. Premium services to not operate in Subramanya, Dharmasthala, Kundapur. Only express service (Karnataka Sarige) buses operating via Charmadi to Mangaluru. ANI
Fire and Rescue personnel evacuate local residents in an inflatable boat from a flooded area at Muppathadam near Eloor in Kochi’s Ernakulam district, in Kerala on Wednesday.
Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan will call his Tamil Nadu counterpart asking him to take urgent steps to reduce water in the Mullaperiyar Dam. Kerala has been requesting the Tamil Nadu to discharge water in Mullaperiyar, but Tamil Nadu waited until the reservoir filled to the brim and then started the spill.Right now, the spill from the Mullaperiyar Dam is rising by the second. At 1pm, all 13 shutters of the dam were open, discharging water at 2178 cubic metres per second.At the emergency meeting convened by Vijayan, officials raised the complaint that Tamil Nadu was not drawing enough water in spite of repeated requests. This spill goes across the border to the Idukki Dam, flooding low lying areas all along the way.Meanwhile, the government has banned entry to Sabarimala due to landslides. Nidheesh M.K./Mint
Kerala today suspended all flights at Kochi airport for three days as severe monsoon flooding took a growing toll in Kerala state.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD), in its latest weather update, has issued a Red Alert in 14 districts of Kerala. Nidheesh M.K.
Water entered parts of Palakkad after gates of Malampuzha Dam were opened on Tuesday.
Kerala: Parts of Palakkad flooded after gates of Malampuzha Dam were opened yesterday. (14 August) pic.twitter.com/AapfL5q6d9
— ANI (@ANI) August 15, 2018
The Jog Falls in Karnataka’s Shimoga region.
#WATCH Visuals of Jog falls in Karnataka's Shimoga during monsoon pic.twitter.com/q2jRMRUXzR
— ANI (@ANI) August 15, 2018
About 17,974 people have been shifted to 117 relief camps in Ernakulam district due to heavy rainfall in Kerala. ANI
According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), heavy rainfall accompanied by gusty winds with speed reaching 60 km/h, is expected in Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Alappuzha, Pathanamthitta, Kottayam, Idukki, Ernakulam, Thrissur and Kozhikode districts. From Kasaragod in the north to Thiruvananthapuram in the south, all rivers are in spate, shutters of several dams, including Mullaperiyar, have been opened. PTI
■ Death toll in Kerala floods has risen to 47 even as a red alert was sounded in 12 of the 14 districts of the state due to the incessant rains.■ A landslide between Kuzhithurai and Eraniel stations has delayed four trains—Guruvayur-Chennai Egmore express, Kanyakumari-Mumbai CSMT express, Dibugarh-Kanyakumari Vivek Express and Gandhidham-Tirunelveli Humsafar Express. ■ A few passenger trains have been partially hit and rail traffic on Kollam-Punalur-Sengottai section has been suspended due to adverse weather conditions.■ On Thiruvananthapuram-Thrissur section, trains will be delayed due to speed restrictions due to rise in water levels in rivers and lakes. The engineering department is continuously monitoring the safety of bridges, railways said. HT
