2.2 lakh in camps, toll reaches 173 in Kerala : The Tribune India

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FLOOD FURY

2.2 lakh in camps, toll reaches 173 in Kerala

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: As a murderous monsoon savaged Kerala, claiming 106 lives on a single day on Thursday, the state plunged deeper into misery on Friday with hospitals facing shortage of oxygen and fuel stations running dry, officials said.



Sreevalsan Thiyyadi

The sun on Friday occasionally peeped through the dark menacing clouds over Kerala, lending a ray of hope to the people caught in a deluge that has submerged vast swathes of the coastal state, claiming 173 lives in a week. The state had last witnessed floods of such severity in 1924.

There were signs of a let-up in the monsoon fury in several parts with the water level in most of Kerala’s 41 rivers receding below the danger mark. However, hill tracts along the Western Ghats in upstate Malabar continued to report random landslips.

With rescue operations strengthened owing to better deployment of Central forces and 2.23 lakh people shifted to 1,568 relief camps, charity organisations and private enterprises have begun collecting funds and clothes for the affected — many of them stranded atop homes, hostels and even hospitals.

Forty-two teams of the Indian Navy and 16 of the Army have been pressed into service. The IAF has chipped in too with 23 helicopters. As many as 250 motorised boats are providing help to those  marooned in the worst-affected districts of Pathanamthitta, Alappuzha, Ernakulam and Thrissur. 

The boats are lined along major rivers — the Periyar, Bharatapuzha and Pampa. The police and disaster management personnel are working round the clock. 

Twelve of the state’s 14 districts continue to be under red alert. However, the fear of heavy weekend rain has waned with the weather office announcing that a low-pressure trough on the Odisha coast has changed course and is now moving towards Madhya Pradesh. 

State officials on Friday put the death toll at 173. He said the authorities were striving to restore road and train traffic. While the state’s busiest airport near Kochi was yet to start operations, the city’s elevated Metro rail was running free service.

The situation in the south-central districts of Alappuzha and Pathanamthitta is grim too. The 170-km Achankovil river continues to be in spate along the Pathanamthitta stretch. The pilgrim town of Pandalam is entirely under water. Deep south Kerala is relatively calm with Thiruvananthapuram largely escaping the nature’s onslaught. 

Even as PM Narendra Modi arrived in Thiruvananthapuram late Friday evening to undertake an aerial view of the flood-hit areas, the Supreme Court has asked the state to ensure  the water level at the Mullaperiyar dam on the Periyar does not exceed 139 feet.

Godavari in spate in Andhra, T’gana

  • The Godavari is in spate in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana; the government machinery has been put on high alert in three districts
  • Second flood warning issued as the discharge from Sir Arthur Cotton Barrage crosses 13.15 lakh cusecs at 9.30 pm
  • The first level warning issued as water flow at Sir Arthur Cotton Barrage at Dowaleswaram crosses 12.1 lakh cusecs
  • Emergency rescue and relief teams positioned in East and West Godavari districts of Andhra Pradesh for any eventuality

Coastal state submerged

2.23 lakh people lodged in 1,568 relief camps

On rescue mission

  • 42 teams of the Navy
  • 16 of the Army
  • 23 IAF helicopters 
  • 250 motorised boats
  • Rs 10 crore worth relief by Punjab

High alert in 12 of Kerala’s 14 districts

Worst-hit districts: Thrissur, Ernakulam, Alappuzha, Pathanamthitta

  • SC asks water in Mullaperiyar dam be brought down by 3 feet
  • Kerala’s longest Periyar river breaches banks

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