Over 12 people are feared dead and 3 people missing in the wake of heavy rains in Kerala. Those missing are a Sabari mala pilgrim who went missing in the Pampa river and 2 others who were fishing in the Manimala river in Kottayam, according to reports.
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has instructed district collectors to be on high alert following the heavy showers that are predicted to last till Friday. To monitor the rain relief efforts, the CM held a meeting with district authorities over video conferencing. He tweeted that he has directed officials to ensure the availability of drinking water in flood affected areas.
“They were instructed to take measures for preventing the outbreak of communicable diseases. Hospitals must be readied to handle emergencies,” his tweets read.
Additionally, the CM also tweeted that camps are functioning across the State to provide relief to the affected.
“Food is being provided to the inmates of these camps,” an another tweet from his official twitter handle read.
The CM also has instructed officials to provide special care to the sick among those staying in relief camps.
Meanwhile, a senior official from Kerala State Disaster Management Authority ( KSDMA ) said that around 22,000 people are housed in different camps and the state is well prepared to combust the situation.
“During the last 24 hours, we have opened 111 camps in the state, majority of them in Alappuzha district,” the Shekhar Kuriakose Lukose, Member Secretary, KSDMA; Head (Scientist), State Emergency Operations Centre at Government of Kerala, said.
He also added that according to weather maps, the rains will reduce tomorrow.
Kerala has been receiving heavy Monsoon rainfall activity since the last many days, according to Skymet Weather portal,
In fact, at present the state of Kerala has a rainfall surplus by 10%.
“During the last 24 hours also, heavy to extremely heavy rains occurred over Kerala. In fact, Kochi recorded extremely heavy three-digit rain to the tune of 231 mm,” the Skymet report said.
According to a Manorama report, revenue minister E Chandrasekharan said that property worth Rs 8 crore have been said to be damaged due to rains
Kottayam recorded heavy rain to the tune of 140 mm, followed by Alappuzha 121 mm, Punalur 70.8 mm, Kozhikode 32.4 mm, Kannur 28.9 mm and Thiruvananthapuram 33 mm, in the last 24 hours from 08:30 am on Sunday,Skymet added that they also expect Monsoon surge to remain active over Kerala for the next few days.
Moreover, as the off-shore trough is persisting over Kerala Coast, this trough is expected to persist for the next few days as well.
“Thus, we can say that all these weather conditions will lead to more heavy rains over the state, mostly heavy rains will be observed over the coastal stations such as Kottayam, Alappuzha and Kochi,” the report added.
(With inputs from Rejimon Kuttapan)