Rains Batter Kerala, Trigger Mudslides and Dam Alerts
Thiruvananthapuram: Heavy rains continued to lash parts of Kerala on Saturday, causing the water level of dams in Palakkad, Idukki and Thrissur districts to rise. The rains also caused minor landslides in rural parts of Thiruvananthapuram district, causing damage to houses.
Water levels in Palakkad dams Walayar, Malampuzha, Moolathara and Chuliyar approached their maximum storage capacity, prompting authorities to open the shutters by a few centimeters.
Water levels reached ‘red alert’ status in various dams, including Ponmudi and Madupetty in Idukki, and ‘orange alert’ status in Sholayar dam in Thrissur. Meanwhile, the Tamil Nadu Water Resources Department has stated that it will release excess water from the Periyar Dam.
In the statement, it was stated that the radial excess shutters of Periyar Dam R2 and R3 will be opened up to one meter at 12 noon, while the V1, V2, V3, V4 and V5 vertical excess shutters will remain open at 1.5 metres. The current water discharge from the dam is 1780 cusecs (cubic feet per second), and it was stated that this figure will increase to 2,369 cusecs with the opening of the shutters.
