Kerala: Cheruthoni dam shutter to be opened today

Due to heavy rainfall in Idukki district, the Kerala government has decided to open a spillway of the district's Cheruthoni dam to release around 50 cusecs of water. The dam's shutter will be opened at 4 pm today.

This comes after the catchment area of the dam received heavy rainfall since Thursday night.

Apart from heavy downpour, strong wind has also caused widespread damage in the state's Kasargod district. The rooftops of many buildings and mobile towers were damaged and power supply was also disrupted in the district for over four hours after trees fell on the top of power cables.

Earlier, Director of Kerala Meteorological Department had informed that Kerala is expected to witness heavy to very heavy rainfall for the next five days and a district wise warning was issued.

On October 3, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said that red alert has been declared in three districts - Idukki, Palakkad and Thrissur - for October 7.

The state was recently hit by the worst floods in nearly a century claiming lives of more than 400 people and caused damage to the tune of nearly Rs. 20,000 crore.