Thiruvananthapuram: Heavy rain on Saturday night has left the capital city and nearby places flooded forcing the government to convene an emergency meeting and speed up relief and rescue operations. The Central Water Commission (CWC) has issued a flood warning for three rivers in the district.
The panel has sounded an orange alert for Vellaikkadavu station under the Karamana river and a yellow alert for Aruvippuram station under the Neyyar river and Ayilam station under the Vamanapuram river. People residing close to these rivers are advised to remain vigilant.
Ministers K Rajan, V Sivankutty, G R Anil and Antony Raju have summoned an emergency meeting to review the rain havoc in the state. Revenue Minister K Rajan asked people in Thiruvananthapuram to stay vigilant as heavy downpour is expected to continue for three more days in the district.
“Over 180 mm of rainfall was received in the capital city and nearly double that in the area around the international airport since Saturday night. It is one of the major reasons for the waterlogging and flooding. Though the situation is under control, more water needs to recede," he said.
The official sources confirmed that 572 people are housed in 17 relief camps across the district.
Education Minister V Sivankutty, who visited the flooded areas, said in a Facebook post that the rains since the previous night have created an unusual situation in the city of Thiruvananthapuram. “Waterlogging in many places and the non-receding of the rising seawater has also aggravated the situation. The district administration is conducting relief operations on a wartime basis and all kinds of aid and assistance would be provided to those affected,” he said.
Water entered hundreds of homes in the district and in some areas there were also incidents of landslides, according to the visuals. Visuals also showed cars almost submerged while rescuers evacuated people from homes in inflatable boats to camps in some parts of Thiruvananthapuram. Apart from residential areas, hospitals, hostels and Technopark were flooded in the district. Over 500 houses are inundated.
Though only light rain is seen in the district, water is not receding from the flood-hit areas.
Meanwhile, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has come under criticism over the failure to sound alert for Thiruvananthapuram. When heavy rain battered the district on Saturday, IMD predicted light to moderate rainfall in the district.
(With PTI inputs)
