KERALA FLOODS 2018 -A TIME LINE Beginning in July 2018, severe floods affected the south Indian state of Kerala, dworst flooding in Kerala in nearly a century. Over 483 people died, 14 are missing. At least a million people were evacuated, mainly from Chengannur, Pandanad, Edanad, Aranmula, Kozhencherry, Ayiroor, Ranni, Pandalam, Kuttanad, Aluva, and Chalakudy. All 14 districts of the state were placed on red alert. According to the Kerala government, one-sixth of the total population of Kerala had been directly affected by the floods and related incidents. The Indian government had declared it a Level 3 Calamity or “calamity of a severe nature” .It is the worst flood in Kerala after the great ue to unusually high rainfall during the monsoon season. It was the flood of 99 that happened in 1924. Thirty-five out of the fifty-four dams within the state were opened for the first time in history. All five overflow gates of the Idukki Dam were opened at the same time, for the first time in 26 years. Heavy rains in Wayanad and Idukki have caused severe landslides and have left the hilly districts isolated. Causes .Rainfall of high intensity with long duration this season and its frequency caused flooding . .Unregulated construction & management of Dams are one of the causes that lead to floods in Kerala . .Deforestation of hill areas causes sudden rising of water as cutting of trees reduces the water carrying/storing capacity of the ground. .Haphazard construction on hills, failure of embankments to check water flow when heavy rainfall occurs, aggravates the flood problem. Loosening of soils due to mining, quarrying . Worst Affected Areas The worst affected areas of the state were Wayanad, Pathanamthitta, Ernakulam, Thrissur, Kochi, Malappuram, Kozhikode, Kannur, Palakkad, Alappuzha districts SOME KEY EVENTS August 8 •Thiruvananthapuram airport geared up, as Cochin International airport shut down •Kerala received rainfall of 310mm over 24 hours. •Death Toll: 29 •Shutters of Neyyar dam rose to 5 inches from 4. •People in Relief Camps: 53501 •Chalakuddy river overflowed. •Central government team visited flood-hit regions of August 11 Kuttanad, Upper Kuttanad. •Crop loan moratorium of one year announced for •Idukki dam level reached 2400.18 feet. farmers of Kuttanad. •Banasura Sagar dam opened. •Over 20 landslides reported in Kannur district. •Upper Kuttanad experienced heavy downpour. Hundreds of families left isolated. •IMD issued Red Alerts across 8 districts. •Death Toll: 33 August 9 •People in Relief Camps: 60622 •24 dams across the state opened. August 12 •Idukki dam’s first gate opened. Reservoir’s gate has not opened in 26 years. •Red Alert remained in place for all 8 districts. •Shutters of Idamalayar dam opened for the first time •Number of houses destroyed reached 20,000. in 5 years. •Low-pressure formation powerful over Odisha •Landslides reported in Malappuram, Idukki, Wayanad, coast, and rain forecasted for 2 more days. Kannur, Kozhikode and Palakkad districts. •Death Toll: 33 •Red Alert issued in Wayanad. •People in Relief Camps: 60622 •15 NDRF men with a chopper reached Wayanad . A further 5 choppers (3 from Air force, 1 from Coast August 13 Guard, and 1 from Navy) were deployed. •Parts of Nilambur were evacuated, and situation •302 relief camps were set up. worsens in Kuttanad •Landslides reported in 5 districts. •Death Toll: 23 •Water level in Idukki dam receded, standing at •People in Relief Camps: 8000 2397.94 feet. Full reservoir level of dam is 2,404 feet. August 10 •Death Toll: 39 •Half of Kerala declared flood-hit. August 14 •10,000 people evacuated. •All 5 gates of Idukki-Cheruthoni dam opened. •Red Alerts remained in place in 7 districts. •Kochupampa dam also opened. •All gates of Idukki dam opened. •80 Army personnel from Madras Regiment deployed •Walayar and Mattuppetti dams also opened. for rescue and relief missions for tourists in Pallivasal, •Water level stood at 2,397 feet at Idukki-Cheruthoni Idukki. dam and reached 138 feet at Mullapperiyar dam. •Flood alerts in Kuttanad, Chengannur, Karthikappally •Rescue website: keralarescue.in launched Taluks. •Pampa river experienced its worst floods in half a •ATMs and banks closed in flood-hit areas. century. •Navy and NDRF reached Ernakulam. •Munnar town isolated. •Drinking water crisis in Kochi, as the supply from •52 units of Defence Forces employed. Aluva was down by 20%. •Death Toll: 39 August 15 •2 ships of the Coast Guard moves to Cochin. •Cauvery river surpassed the danger mark. •Following heavy rains, gates of 35 dams in the state •Army constructed a 35-feet-long bridge to rescue opened. It is the first time in history where all five gates around 100 people from Valiyakadu village in of Idukki dam opened. Malampuzha. •Government issued an alert before opening gates of •More fishermen join rescue missions. Mullaperiyar dam when water levels reached 140-foot •Total number of disaster management teams mark. reached 220. •Idukki district administration relocated over 4,000 •12 people died in total from Malappuram, people to relief camps. Kozhikode, Palakkad and Thrissur. In Palakkad, 5 •At least eight people killed in Malappuram owing to a people died in a landslide. house collapsing. •Kochi airport shut until August 18 •All tourist activities halted in Idukki. 82 tourists left •Death Toll: 47 stranded in a bus in Munnar, as routes were flooded and blocked by mudslides. August 16 •Death Toll: 105 •Relief Camps:1,50,000 •Idukki endured 84% extra rain. •Tamil Nadu government declined Kerala's request to August 17 reduce water level at Mullapperiyar dam to 139 feet. •Water levels at Idukki and Mullapperiyar dams reached •Temporary health centres opened in all affected 2402.2 feet and 141.95 feet respectively. areas. •Neyyar dam opened for the first time in decades. •150,000 homes abandoned in Kuttanad. •Landslides in 87 places across the state leaving hundreds •82,442 individuals rescued. isolated . •142 ,000 people were in 416 relief camps in •Onam holidays rescheduled from August 16 - 29. Ernakulam district. •130 fishermen, in 60 boats, reached flood-hit areas from •80,757 people placed in 500 relief camps in Vizhinjam. Alappuzha district. •Self-governing bodies requested to work 24/7. •Kerala State Electricity Board switched off almost •Situation worsened in Idukki. 4,000 transformers across the state, disrupting power •Upper Kuttanad flooded. supply over past 24 hours. •Wayanad Churam blocked. •Thousands left stranded in Thiruvalla, Chengannur, •Public transport system halted in several parts of the Chalakkudy, Kalady. state. •Red Alert remained in Idukki and Kottayam •Southern Railways and Kochi Metro suspended districts operations due to floods. The Kochi Metro Rail (KMRL) •Kochi Naval Airport opened for civil aviation. also ceased its operations following flooding of its yard •400 fishing boats from Thiruvananthapuram joined in Muttom. rescue ops. •Supply of drinking water in Ernakulam discontinued. •Chalakkudy river reached 16 feet. •All government doctors requested to serve at relief •Indian Coast Guard rescued 1,342 stranded people, camps. guiding a further 4,240 to safer areas. 18 rescue and •In a tweet, the Prime Minister summoned the Defence relief teams deployed for rescue missions. Ministry to intensify its rescue operations. •12 additional Army boats announced. •3 IPS officers appointed to coordinate rescue operations •5 units of NDRF made their way to in Pathanamthitta district. Thiruvananthapuram for rescue operations. •NDRF evacuated 926 people to safer places at •Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced he will Pathanamthitta, Kozhikode, Ernakulam, Thrissur and take a tour of Kerala to assess situation. Alappuzha. •Death Toll: 114 •Navy's Marine Commandos deployed. •Relief Camps:314391 August 18 •Rainfall weakened across the state. However, IMD predicted strong winds by the coasts, and rough seas over •58,506 people rescued, however, 388 individuals were the south, central and northwest Arabian Sea. Fishermen reported missing. advised not to go out to sea in these areas. •Donations to the CM's relief fund surpassed Rs 112 crore. •8 deaths reported in Thrissur district. •14 deaths reported each in Alappuzha and Ernakulam. •CM confirmed rescue missions are in the final stage, and •Idukki dam stood at 2,402 feet. seeks a change of priority to rehabilitation missions. •PM held a high-level meeting in Kochi and planned to •90% of Kuttanad residents evacuated. conduct an aerial survey of the affected region. •Water receded in Ranni, Konni, Kozhancherry and parts •PM declared an urgent relief of Rs.500 cr for rescue ops. of Pathanamthitta district. •Fisheries Ministry opened control room in Chengannur. •For the first time since the 1924 floods, water level at •Garud commandos deployed in Chengannur, and airdropping Vembanadu lake touched 90cm. of food intensified. •Death Toll: 220 •Fishermen from across the state came together to rescue those •Relief Camps: 724649 in need. They successfully rescued people from areas where August 20 airlifting had failed earlier. •Water Authority opened 24/7 emergency water supply. •Kerala received a cumulative rainfall of 771mm from •Death Toll: 195 August 1 - 20. •Relief Camps: 8,87,000 •IMD declared that rainfall intensity should decline. •Community kitchens popularised in all 3,272 camps. August 19 •In total, 11,000 houses and 46,000 hectares of crops were destroyed. •Red Alerts withdrawn from all districts where it was in place. •Death Toll: 252 •Relief Camps: 1028073 Rescue Being instructed by the Cabinet Secretary, senior officers of Defense Services, NDRF, NDMA and secretaries of Civilian Ministries conducted meetings with Kerala Chief Secretary . Following the decisions taken during these meetings, the Centre launched massive rescue and relief operations . In one of the largest rescue operations, 40 helicopters, 31 aircraft, 182 teams for rescue, 18 medical teams of defense forces, 58 teams of NDRF and 7 companies of Central Armed Police Forces were pressed into service along with over 500 boats and necessary rescue equipments.