In the latest update by the IMD heavy rainfall is very likely to fall over Tamil Nadu between November 15 and 18, and over south interior Karnataka till November 16.Restoration work in Chennai has been underway for the past one week after heavy rains lashed the city. Meanwhile, hundreds of devotees trekked the holy Sabarimala on Tuesday to offer prayers, despite heavy rainfall warnings in Kerala. The IMD sounded a red alert in Idukki, Ernakulam and Thrissur, and orange alert in Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Pathanamthitta, Alapzuha, Kottayam. The Kerala police said three persons killed in rain related incidents on Sunday.
A minor landslip claimed the life of a truck driver at Kalamassery in Ernakulam district. And two children swept away in gushing waters in Kannur and Thrissur districts. For the first time in Kerala, shutters of the dam opened twice a year. On October 19, the Idukki dam opened after the district received 700mmrainfall, triggering flash floods and landslides that claimed 42lives. On Sunday, the water level rose to 2,938 feet out of the total 2,403 feet capacity, forcing authorities to open one shutter. The shutters of the dam have been opened only five times since its inception 45 years ago. Tamil Nadu also informed the state that if the situation continued to be like this, spillways of Mullaperiyar dam, which is controlled by the former, will also be opened. On Sunday, the water level in Mullaperiyar crossed 140 feet and has a total capacity of 142 feet. Kerala has also been put on high alert as many dams are filled to the brim, following which chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan called an emergency meeting later in the evening.