Thiruvananthapuram, August 19: As the rains in Kerala have subsided on Sunday, two of the five sluice gates of the Idukki dam were closed. All of the five gates of the dam were opened on August 10 because the water in the dam was almost filled to the brim. The opening of the gates resulted in adding six lakh water into Periyar River every second worsening the flood situation in Kerala.
The outflow of water from both the Idukki and the Mullaperiyar dams has also decreased. Earlier in the day, The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has rescinded the red alert issued to the 11 districts of the state. The IMD has also predicted moderate rainfall for the next five days in the southern state.
The Indian Defence Forces and other central agencies are carrying out rescue and relief operation in the State. Operation Madad has been launched in the state to evacuate people from flood-affected areas to relief camps. Today, two Indian naval ships, INS Deepak and INS Mysore disembarked food and drinking water at the Southern Naval Command for the people in the flood-hit areas of Kerala.
Various states government has announced financial assistance to Kerala. Yesterday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi issued an aid of Rs 500 crore to the southern state. A total of 846,680 people made homeless by devastating floods in Kerala are sheltering in 3,734 camps. Nearly 370 people have lost their lives in Kerala since August 8 due to floods caused by rains and landslides.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 19, 2018 06:42 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).