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.
Union Minister KJ Alphons, who is from Kerala, said this is the biggest spell of rain the state has witnessed in five decades."It is the biggest rain we had in 50 years," he was quoted by news agency ANI.
For the first time in the last 26 years, a shutter of the Cheruthoni Dam was opened yesterday 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 percent.
So far 27 people have been killed, including 11 in high range Idukki in landslips yesterday as rain continued to pound the southern state.
Over 5,500 people from Wayanad district, where a red alert had been sounded yesterday, have been shifted to relief camps, the sources said Friday morning.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke with the Kerala Chief Minister on Thursday in the wake of heavy rains and floods in the state, and offered all possible assistance to those affected.