TIL Desk/National/Thiruvananthapuram/ As heavy rains continued to lash various parts of Kerala, two more shutters of the Cheruthoni Dam, part of the Idukki Reservoir, were opened on Friday as the water level touched 2,401 feet.For the first time in the last 26 years, a shutter of the Cheruthoni Dam was opened on Thursday and two more were opened at 7 am.
The full reservoir level is 2,403 feet and storage capacity is 69,268 Mcft and storage percentage is 97.61 per cent. The South-west monsoon has been vigorous over Kerala resulting in heavy rains in various parts of the state since the past two days. So far 26 people have been killed, including 11 in high range Idukki in landslips as rain continued to pound the southern state.
Idukki has received 129.80 mm rainfall. With water levels rising in various dams and reaching almost maximum capacity, shutters of at least 22 reservoirs in the state have been opened to drain out excess water. According to state disaster control room sources, 241 relief camps have been opened and 15,695 people have been shifted from low-lying areas. Over 5,500 people from Wayanad district, where a red alert had been sounded on Thursday, have been shifted to relief camps, the sources said.
