SC asks TN to maintain Mullaperiyar dam's water level at 139 ft till Aug 31

The Supreme Court Thursday ordered thaat the water level at the Mullaperiyar dam be maintained at 139 feet till August 31, keeping in mind the grave devastation that has taken place due to the unprecedented floods in Kerala.

A bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud considered the Centre's submission that the sub-committee of the Mullaperiyar dam had met on August 23 and directed the Tamil Nadu government to ensure that the water level is maintained at 139 feet, which is two feet below the permissible limit fixed by the apex court.

The bench made it clear that it would confine itself to the aspect of disaster management and said that the decision to lower the water limit in the dam has been taken in view of the devastating deluge in Kerala.

The observation came after Tamil Nadu government alleged that "it could be a part of a sinister design" to circumvent the apex court's decision fixing the permissible limit.

Udupi, Idukki record highest rainfall in 2018, serve future warning

Kerala now faces the ravages of the worst monsoon floods in 94 years, with 373 dead and more than 1.2 million in relief camps after 2,378 millimetre (mm) of rain over 81 days between June 1 and August 20, 2018–42% above normal or three times more than the Indian average for that period–according to data from the India aDepartment (IMD).

Kerala is facing its worst flood in 100 years. 80 dams opened, 324 lives lost and 223139 people are in about 1500+ relief camps. Your help can rebuild the lives of the affected. Donate to https://t.co/FjYFEdOsyl #StandWithKerala.

— CMO Kerala (@CMOKerala) August 17, 2018

With extreme weather events and variability increasing in urban and rural India, as IndiaSpend has previously reported, flooding is likely to become more common, the outcomes attributable as much to poor planning as climate change. In Kerala, the monsoons have generally decreased, and that was a reason the state was unprepared for such a ferocious monsoon, an IMD official told the Times of India on August 21, 2018.

868 lives lost due to rains, floods in 7 Indian states during monsoon

As many as 868 people have lost their lives, 247 of them in Kerala, due to rains, floods and landslides in seven states during the monsoon season so far, the Home Ministry said on Friday.

According to the Home Ministry's National Emergency Response Centre (NERC), 247 people have died in Kerala, where 2,11,000 people in 14 districts have been badly hit by the rains and floods and over 32,500 hectares of crops damaged.

As many as 191 people have died in Uttar Pradesh, 183 people in West Bengal, 139 in Maharashtra, 52 in Gujarat, 45 in Assam and 11 in Nagaland.

A total of 33 people have also been missing, 28 in Kerala and five in West Bengal, while 274 have been injured in rain-related incidents in the states.

The deluge and rains have hit 26 districts in Maharashtra, 23 in Assam, 23 in West Bengal, 14 in Kerala, 13 in Uttar Pradesh, 11 in Nagaland and 10 in Gujarat.

Kerala floods: 26 dead, army deployed after red alert in several districts

Kerala Floods - In rain battered-Kerala, a red alert has been issued for Idukki and its adjoining districts in view of the possibility of release of more water from the Idukki reservoir, while entry of tourists to the high-range district was stopped after roads caved in at many places.

Five columns of Army has been deployed in the state's northern districts since Thursday night, and small bridges have been constructed to evacuate people stranded at various places in Kozhikode and Wayanad.

The Indian Navy has put on alert its Southern Naval Command in view of the rising water level in the Periyar river and a possible inundation of parts of Wellingdon Island surrounded by the backwaters of Kochi.

Twenty-six people have lost their lives since August 8 in landslides and floods caused due to the heavy rains as the South-west monsoon remains vigorous over Kerala.

The Idukki district administration has restricted tourists from visiting hilly areas and movement of heavy goods carriers also has been restricted.

Heavy rains, landslides claim 22 lives in Kerala in past 24 hours

The heavy south-west monsoon and landslides have resulted in the deaths of 22 people in Kerala in the past 24 hours.

On Thursday, the state government opened the Idukki Dam's shutters for the first time in around 26 years, as a trial run, causing flooding on the banks of the river.

According to reports, at least 22 people, including 10 in the Idukki district, have died in various rain-related incidents, including landslides, on Thursday. The Cochin International Airport Ltd (CIAL) has said that arrival operations have been stopped from 1.10 pm on Thursday as a precautionary measure.

The water level in the Idukki Dam has been increasing even after the Cheruthoni Dam's shutter was opened almost 50 centimetres for close to two hours from 1 pm.