Almost a year after the devastating flood, Kerala is witnessing yet another fury of the rain with the northern parts of the state under flood in the heavy rains that continued to lash for the last two days. A landslide has also been reported at Puthumala in Wayanad and several persons are said to be missing.
Red alert has been declared in Malappuram Kozhikode, Wayanad and Idukki. Reports have said that many low lying areas are under water. The government had sought the help of the Army and they have deployed their troops in the worst hit districts. The disaster Management sources said that five National Disaster Response Force Team have been deployed and 13 teams would be deployed in the coming hours, if needed.
In the land slide, the villagers claim that about 40 persons were missing. The Disaster management teams or rescue workers are not able to reach the region because of the inclement weather, sources said. Several houses and religious places are said to have been under mud. The Army has been given instructions to reach Puthumala.
Meanwhile, Nilambur town is reported to be under water and has been isolated from other places. Officials said that efforts were on to provide relief materials to the stranded people.
They also said that eight places in Idukki witnessed landslides. The high range roads have been closed because of risk of landslides, the officials said.
Water levels in most of the rivers and dams have risen. Manimala, Valapattanam, Chaliyar, Pampa and Moovattupuzha rivers have shown a rise in water levels.
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had called an emergency meeting in the evening to take stock of the situation. He said that the Centre has been asked to deploy more NDRF teams in the state.
