It rained. A lot. And that's what it took for God's own country to get submerged, leaving hundreds dead and thousands displaced. Kerala is currently reeling under the impact of one of India's worst floods in a century.
Meteorologists have said that the southern state of India received 37 percent more rainfall than usual since the onset of monsoon in June. At last count, 357 people had lost their lives, and the floods have destroyed roughly 906,400 hectares worth of crops.
The cost to the state and its people stands at a staggering Rs 9,512 crore. Following torrential rains, Kerala, for the first time in history, opened up all the gates of the Idukki reservoir dam --Asia's largest arch dam-- built across River Periyar that flows through the state.
While the heavy rains have abated over the past couple of days, the entire world came together to help flood-hit Kerala get back on its feet.
From state governments to celebrities, many people have come forward to help the victims of Kerala. Government officials have said that the state's topmost priority is to ensure the safety of the people and provide them with relief materials for survival. They, however, admit that rebuilding the state will be a "daunting task". Amid all this, one question that has often been raised is– could the damages have been controlled with the early release of dam water?
Aren't weather predictions enough?
The water levels had been rising in the dams since mid-July, according to data from the Kerala State Electricity Board. "Yes, the rainfall was extremely heavy; much more than Kerala receives at this time of the year. However, the IMD (Indian Meteorological Department) had predicted that the extremely heavy rainfall was very likely and the state should have taken the decision to release water from the dams that were almost full when the rains had subsided in July," an IMD official told Hindustan Times, on condition of anonymity.
Although the state had been receiving more rainfall since the beginning of the monsoon, a spell of extremely heavy rainfall began on August 8. This coincided with the opening of all five gates of the Idukki dam which were opened on August 9, unleashing fresh hell on Kerala.
Hence, it can be argued that the dam gates could have been opened sooner during the periods of less rainfall, especially if they had reached 90 to 100 percent capacity. This would have certainly reduced flooding, according to experts.
Dam safety expert N Sasidharan told Firstpost, "The authorities should not have waited till the reservoirs reached their capacity. Early opening of dams would have spared the massive devastation. This is the result of poor planning by the disaster management authority."
Meanwhile, water levels in Kerala have slowly begun to recede. Rescue operations are on and rehabilitation could take months. Unfortunately, the end of monsoon is still weeks away. One can only hope that things stay under control.
Once the floods and fury recede, the authorities could sit down and assess the situation in a better manner. Let unpreparedness not be an excuse next time such a disaster occurs.
