A glimpse of the Kerala Floods

Thunder,Lightning and Rain

Hello,         
Today is 15th August 2018, India's 72nd Independence Day. I am currently located in the Thrissur district of Kerala. Kerala is currently undergoing a deadly disaster,one of its greatest floods. Earlier this month, all five shutters of the Idukki dam situated in Idukki district of Kerala were opened. The Periyar dam, Kerala’s oldest dam, had the shutters opened by the Tamil Nadu government,who are currently in control of it, earlier today. All fourteen districts of Kerala have been issued a Red Alert by the Government of Kerala. As I write this,13 districts out of fourteen have declared tomorrow a holiday due to heavy floods. The one remaining district may also declare tomorrow a holiday if the rain persists. I have been inside since 2:00 pm and it has been raining almost the entire time. The Wayanad district of Kerala is currently the most severely affected alongside Idukki and Malappuram. A special type of landslide, locally known in Malayalam as ‘Urulpottal’, has been occurring repeatedly  several areas. The Wayanad district of Kerala had all manner of land transport cut off earlier this month as both the roads which connect Wayanad with other parts of Kerala were destroyed due to rain and landslides. Several residential areas and roads have been completely submerged. A historical event took place earlier this week. All THIRTY THREE dams of Kerala were opened and all FORTY FOUR rivers of Kerala were overflowing with water. The Admire check dam collapsed. A total of 27 people have died today due to landslides and floods. Many houses do not have electricity because many districts have switched off their main power line. The Cheruthoni bridge was submerged when the shutters of the Idukki dam were opened. Approximately a 190 people have lost their lives in this tragic series of events. There is a huge fear that the Mullaperiyar dam will collapse. If that happens, there are fears that the Idukki dam, which receives water from the Periyar, it will not be able to withstand the the pressure and that it may break. If either one breaks, the tragedy that will take place will make everything that has happened till now look like a squirrel next to a mountain. Over 10,000 houses have been severely damaged. As per the information I have obtained via various media, the Kerala government has so far sanctioned rupees 80 crore for relief and rescue. People have been requested to try and donate some money, however little it is, to the disaster relief fund so that the victims of this tragedy a one fraction of less things to worry about. With that, I end todays documentation of what has happened so far. I shall update this regularly till the disaster has taken its toll and damages have been calculated. I hope all of this ends soon.                            
   Yours truly,                                   
TheGravewalker.
[Here are some pictures so that you can see the destruction for yourself]

(Disclaimer: I do not own these pictures. The credit goes to the brave people who took them)