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In view of heavy rainfall, the State Water Authority of Kerala on Tuesday opened a shutter of Kerala's Idukki dam as the water level continues to rise.
"Shutter No 3 of the Cheruthoni dam was opened at 6 in the morning by 40 cm but it was raised to 60 cm on 8.30 am," said Idukki district officials. The district administration has issued an orange alert as the water level in the reservoir there touched 2401.58 feet. Kerala is experiencing continuous rains these days, which is wreaking havoc in the state. Due to the rain, life has been disturbed all around the state. Earlier, on Friday also, the administration opened four shutters of the Malampuzha dam and also issued a warning for those living close to the banks of the Mukkaipuzha, Kalpathipuzha, and Bharathapuzha rivers. As per the rule curve, the capacity of the dam is 112.99 meters. The situation is not alarming at present but the shutters were opened and raised up to 5 cm in view of the heavy rains. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted widespread rains in Kerala from August 4 to 8 and warned that the state can expect isolated extremely heavy rainfall over its Ghat regions. Earlier in the month of July, the Kannur and Kasargod districts witnessed heavy showers with the rivers of Kasargod overflowing.Several houses in Kannur collapsed and got partially damaged due to the inundation of rainwater inside. One family had to be shifted from the Payannur municipality due to the overflow.The water levels of Kadalundi (Malapuram), Bharathapuzha (Palakkad), Shiria (Kasargod), Karavannoor (Thrissur) and Gayathripuzha (Thrissur) rivers have reached the warning level. On August 4, the shutters of Sholayar and Peringalkuthu Dams were raised and the Chalakudy river is in the state. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has urged people living on the banks of the Chalakudy river to move out as the water flow is likely to increase by evening. He said that those living in the low-lying areas of Thrissur and Ernakulam districts to be cautious. Many landslides have also occurred in the last months. A heavy landslide was reported on Friday in Munnar Kundala estate in Kerala leading to submerging a temple and two shops completely. However, no casualty was reported, but at least 175 families are affected due to the occurred landslide. Due to heavy downpours in the state, six deaths have been reported so far. As per the CM, the state government has prepared a united emergency cell of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and state forces emergency control room at the Kerala State disaster management authority office. Kottayam, Pathanamthitta, Idukki, Kollam, and Thiruvananthapuram districts are experiencing heavy rains. Water levels in rivers are rising in many places. Many streams overflowed. (ANI)
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