Kochi: Authorities have taken precautionary measures and urged people to exercise caution as another spell of monsoon rains lashed the central parts of Kerala. Shutters of Idamalayar dam in Ernakulam district were opened on Monday while people residing along the Periyar have been asked to remain vigilant.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued orange alert for Pathanamthitta, Kottayam and Idukki districts for Monday as the weather agency has predicted very heavy rainfall in isolated areas. A yellow alert has been issued for Kollam, Alappuzha, Ernakulam, Thrissur, Palakkad, Malappuram, Kozhikode, Wayanad, Kannur and Kasaragod districts for the day.

A red alert indicates heavy to extremely heavy rains of over 20 cm in 24 hours, while an orange alert means very heavy rains from 6 cm to 20 cm of rain. A yellow alert means heavy rainfall between 6 to 11 cm.

Dam shutters open

Two shutters of Idamalayar dam were opened by 4 pm on Monday as part of maintaining the water level as per the rule curve. The shutters were opened by 50 cm. A volume of 65.35 cumecs of water was being released from the reservoir. Those residing along the Periyar have been urged to exercise caution in the wake of releasing excess water from the dam. Activities like crossing the river, fishing, and tourism have been banned for the time being, the district collector who is also the chairman of the District Disaster Management Authority said in a statement.

More rescue teams

The state government has decided to deploy more teams of the National Disaster Response Force in the wake of the unexpected spell after an interval. Apart from the two teams already active in the state, five more teams will reach the state on Tuesday. They will be deployed in Kottayam, Thrissur, Malappuram, Wayanad and Kannur districts.