KOCHI: The monsoon surge in September has allayed fears of a deficit rainfall and filled up the dams in Kerala. According to meteorologists, the monsoon rainfall which was deficit during the first three months of the season has blessed the state abundantly in September. Kerala’s normal rainfall in September is 245mm but, this time, the state received 568mm rainfall till September 21, surpassing the three-decade high of 562mm recorded in 1998. The state had received 425mm rainfall in 2019 and 526 mm rainfall in 2007.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said the state has received 169.5mm rainfall during the past four days, which was five times the normal rainfall of 32.5mm during the period. The state has received 11 per cent surplus rainfall during the four-month season. However, the monsoon was 16 per cent deficit in Wayanad.In view of the heavy rain, the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has deployed one team each in Nilambur, Thrissur, Munnar, Kozhikode and Wayanad.
The state reported five deaths due to monsoon-related incidents in the past three days, the CM said. “The intensity of the rain has decreased. There is a cloud band over south Kerala which will bring rain in southern districts on Wednesday. The state will continue to receive light to moderate showers in the next four days,” said Cusat Advanced Centre for Atmospheric Radar Research scientist M G Manoj.
Meanwhile, the downpour in the past weeks has helped fill up the dams. The storage in Idukki dam has reached 83 per cent. The shutters of Sholayar, Kallarkutty, Kundala, Poringalkuthu, Lower Periyar, Muzhiyar, Ponmudi, Erattayar and Banasura Sagar were opened in the past two days.
Water level rises in Idukki dam
Idukki: The water level in Idukki dam has started rising due to the heavy rainfall in the district over the past week. The present level is only 3ft short of issuing blue alert. Though the water level recorded in the dam on September 10 was 2,374.48ft, it rose to 2,384.64ft on Tuesday due to the heavy torrents, with the dam’s storage standing at 84.64 per cent. “At present, there is no need to open the shutters. But we expect the water level to rise further if the inflow increases.
The dam has a healthy storage level now, which is required to meet the power requirements for next summer,” said a KSEB official. Presently, five of the six power generators at the Moolamattam power house are functional. The authorities are planning to increase the generation to maintain the water level in the dam in the coming days. This is to prevent the water level from reaching the upper rule curve prescribed by KSEB. The rainfall recorded in the catchment area of Idukki reservoir on Tuesday was 78.2 mm. Meanwhile, the Mullaperiyar reservoir’s water level reached 129.90ft on Monday night, against the permissible level of 142ft.