In another day of umitigated misery, at least 47 lives were lost in Kerala on Thursday from monsoon-related flooding and landslides, taking the toll to 80 over two days of intense rain.
The depression that had formed in the Bay of Bengal yesterday has not weakened till Thursday evening, continuing to rally humongous flows from the Arabian Sea to be relayed across Kerala and beyond.
Depression holds firm
But the depression travelled some distance from the Odisha coast into Vidarbha on Thursday. Having left ‘sweetspot Odisha,’ its pull power across Kerala was expected to weaken, but apparently did not, as was clear from the rain lashing the State.
The India Met Department (IMD) expects the rains to reduce in strength from Friday. But it has also maintained the outlook for another low-pressure area forming over the North Bay on Sunday, a day later than thought earlier.
Its forecast for Friday said that heavy to very heavy rain with extremely heavy falls are likely over East Gujarat, North Madhya Maharashtra, North Konkan (Mumbai included) and Saurashtra.
US agency outlook
Rain will be heavy to very heavy over Coastal Karnataka and Kerala and heavy over Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, East Rajasthan, South Interior Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, West Vidarbha and South West Madhya Pradesh.
The IMD has also warned of ‘rough’ to ‘very rough’ sea conditions along the Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka and Kerala coasts. Fishermen are advised not to venture into the sea.
The US National Weather Services has said that the Bay would remain active until August end and early into September, with even more low-pressure areas marching across East, Central and North-West India into Gujarat/Rajasthan.
Meanwhile, continued heavy rain and inflows from 34 dams of the Kerala State Electricity Board brought vast areas of the satellite towns of Ernakulam under a sheet of flood waters on Thursday.
Landslides in north
The day was punctuated by reports of a series of landslides from the northern districts that took the days’ death toll alone to 47. Heavy rain lashed Idukki and Pathanamthitta districts in Central Kerala also. The social media was flooded with distress calls from stricken people who had shifted to terraces of two-storey houses even as supply of electricity failed them. This threatened to shut down mobile phones, their only mode of communication.
Earlier in the day, official agencies tweeted live tutorials on how to use location-sharing service on mobile phones. This has continued to generate a flurry of ‘dropped pin’ messages to the rescue and relief agencies.
Kochi airport closed
As the floods spread, the Cochin International Airport at Nedumbassery has been closed till August 26.
Those who booked flights from Kochi have been advised to travel to Thiruvananthapuram or Kozhikode for their onward journey. According to DGCA sources, the matter is being taken up with airlines for rescheduling of flights without any additional cost.
Airfare on 18 domestic routes (10 direct flights to/from Thiruvananthapuram and eight direct flights to/from Kozhikode) are being monitored, the sources said. A spike in airfares on a few routes have been observed. The airlines concerned have been advised to cap the fare on these flights, they added.
Asked about of use of the airstrip at the Cochin air base, RN Choubey, Civil Aviation Secretary, said that the base has a small airstrip where only turboprop ATRs can land. Moreover it doesn't have infrasturcture to handle regular airline flights (that is, x-ray machines, conveyer belts, CISF for security check, etc).
While the strip could be used for relief operations, the Kerala Chief Secretary did not seen any need as the State Government was using State transport buses for that purpose. However, “we are ready to step in at short notice if the need arises. The situation is being reviewed constantly,” he said.