Latest news with #KeralaStateDisasterManagementAuthority
Time of India
25-06-2025
- Climate
- Time of India
Wayanad: Heavy rain causes river swell in 2024 landslide-hit areas, sparks panic
Wayanad: Intense rain lashed Mundakkai and Chooralmala areas in the district, which were devastated by a landslide in July 2024, causing the Punnapuzha river to swell on Wednesday. The torrential flow of muddy water in the river raised fears of a fresh landslide, but officials later confirmed that no such event occurred. According to the district disaster management authority, the heavy rain that began on Tuesday night led to a minor mud slip in the area where the 2024 landslide happened. From around 9.30 am, the river began rising sharply, with strong currents reaching just below the Bailey bridge constructed after last year's disaster. The gushing waters breached the Attamala road and also submerged parts of the road to Punchirimattam. However, the Kerala State Disaster Management Authority (KSDMA) as well as Wayanad district collector M R Meghasree said there was no fresh landslide. "The officials examined all the way up to Punchirimattom and there is no new landslide there. It is the existing debris that has now come down. It is natural and it is something that we should be prepared for," the collector said. Officials from the forest and revenue departments, who surveyed the area, also found that portions of soil from the elevated slopes near the Vanarani estate had eroded. The collector said access to the affected areas had been restricted until the rains subsided. Livelihood assistance to people will be decided after discussions with the govt, she added. KSDMA member secretary Sekhar Kuriakose said the erosion of the loose debris from the 2024 landslide would continue for some time. "The eroded materials need to completely wash off. The river and its immediate buffer of no-go zone is well marked, also considering the possibility of eroded materials coming down," he said. C K Vishnudas, director of the Hume Centre of Ecology that has been monitoring rainfall in Wayanad on a daily basis, said Mundakkai and nearby areas received 70 mm of rainfall till noon on Wednesday, which likely contributed to the river's surge. With residents saying that they heard a large sound from Mundakkai hills, panic set in. Fire and rescue services, police and revenue officials reached the scene, and around 150 plantation workers of Harrisons Malayalam Estate and other estates, who were working in the area, were quickly evacuated in tractors, trucks and other vehicles. The tribal families of Erattukundu colony were also relocated. Part of the soil and other debris, which were stored along the riverbanks as part of desilting the river under a Rs 195-crore project, were also washed away in the heavy rain. Following the landslide on July 30, 2024, 5.7 million cu m of debris flowed across 8 km along the Punnapuzha river, altering its course. Meanwhile, protesting residents blocked revenue officials, including the village officer, tahsildar and ADM, saying that their safety was at stake and demanding that they should be provided a daily allowance promised for landslide-hit families. The IMD has issued an orange alert for the district on Thursday. The collector has declared a holiday for all educational institutions, including professional colleges and residential institutions. Entry to all tourist spots in vulnerable areas has been prohibited.
United News of India
19-06-2025
- United News of India
Ship accidents: SDMA launches Web Application
Thiruvananthapuram, Jun 19 (UNI) The Kerala State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA) has developed a web application to collect information about objects washing ashore or floating in the sea in connection with recent ship accidents off the Kerala coast. The app collects details such as the name and mobile number of the person reporting the object, a description of the item, its live location or nearest landmark, and images. So far, 65 containers linked to the ship accident have been recovered along the coast and relocated to various ports. In Thiruvananthapuram district, 21 barrels found near Vizhinjam and Kovalam have been moved to secure locations at the Vizhinjam port. Two barrels suspected to be related to the accident washed ashore in Alappad (Kollam district) and Kumbla Koyippadi (Kasaragod district). The vessel involved in the incident, Van Hai 503, has now been moved 57 nautical miles away from the Kerala coast. Efforts are ongoing to tow it further out to sea. Reports indicate that the ship is still emitting smoke and fire. According to information from the Coast Guard, there is a possibility that containers that fell from the ship may wash ashore along the southern part of Ernakulam district and the coastal areas of Alappuzha and Kollam districts. In this context, the SDMA emphasized that no one should touch or approach any suspicious object found along the shore. People must maintain a distance of at least 200 meters and inform the matter to the SDMA emergency number 112. UNI DS GNK
The Hindu
18-06-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Panel report on disaster risk financing yet to be enforced in Kerala
Even as Kerala is reeling under the monsoon fury, the government is yet to implement the proposals by a committee on disaster risk financing led by K. Ravi Raman, member, State Planning Board, which were submitted four years ago. The panel, set up against the backdrop of the 2018 floods and other natural calamities, had suggested that a new risk transfer mechanismfor financing disasters could be implemented and a climate risk insurance modelmay be adopted. It had also proposed a State disaster risk fund pool. For insurance coverage, the panel said, the households in the State may be classified into trust/assurance mode, hybrid mode, and full-cost mode. In trust/ assurance mode, the government will have to pay the full premium rate of ₹31 for an insured sum of ₹1 lakh as a group insurance scheme. The entire section of yellow and pink ration cardholders (38.32 lakh households) can be made part of it. Of the 24.73 lakh blue ration cardholders, who belong to the non-priority subsidy category, 22.26 lakh may be included in the hybrid mode as the rest are assumed to have been covered by some kind of insurance. There can be two options. As the first option, these people may have to pay 50% of the premium (₹15) as subsidy through direct insurance and the rest will have to be paid by the government as indirect insurance. In the second option, the government may have to identify households whose residents are employed in the unorganised sector and are living in the most environmentally vulnerable areas. The government can pay the full premium rate for the identified section. The others can pay 50% of the premium as subsidy through direct insurance and the rest of the amount will have to be paid by government as indirect insurance. Of the 26.07 lakh white ration cardholders in the non-priority category, 23.9 lakh can be included in the full cost mode, and asked to pay the full premium as the others are expected to have been covered under some kind of insurance either individually or through their employers. The government may also develop a State Disaster Risk Fund Poolas a new disaster risk financial source and the climate risk insurance can be implemented using its funds. The amount collected for the purpose can be deposited in a disaster risk pool account. An estimated ₹566 crorewould be the initial resource base for the proposed pool, which could be obtained from taxation and other methods. The nodal authorityto supervise and regulate matters related may be the Kerala State Disaster Management Authority. It is also possible to consider the Kerala State Insurance Department as a nodal agency. The department should work in collaboration with the KSDMA, district disaster management authorities and local self-government institutions, the panel had said.
The Hindu
16-06-2025
- The Hindu
Lifeboat from Singapore-flagged cargo ship Wan Hai 503 washes ashore in Kerala's Alappuzha
Coastal areas in Alappuzha, Kerala, are on alert after a lifeboat, believed to be from the cargo ship MV Wan Hai 503, washed ashore at Paravur in Punnapra North grama panchayat on Sunday (June 15, 2025) night. The lifeboat, which drifted ashore, caught the attention of local residents around 9 p.m. They immediately informed the police and the District Disaster Management Authority. It was later shifted to a safe location. The lifeboat has 'Wan Hai 503 Singapore' written on it. The container ship had caught fire at sea off Kannur coast on June 9 following an explosion. Officials said that the containers that fell overboard from the Singapore-flagged vessel were also expected to drift ashore along Alappuzha, Kollam and Ernakulam coasts between Monday and Wednesday. The public have been advised to stay away from any suspicious object found on the coast. The Kerala State Disaster Management Authority has urged people to maintain a distance of at least 200 metres from such objects and report them by calling the emergency number 112. The alert was issued as some of the containers reportedly contain hazardous cargo. A similar alert was issued when cargo vessel MSC Elsa 3 capsized off Alappuzha coast last month. On May 26, two containers washed up at Tharayilkadavu near Arattupuzha. Containers from the ship also drifted ashore along Kollam, Thiruvananthapuram and Kanyakumari coasts.
Time of India
15-06-2025
- General
- Time of India
Wan Hai 503 accident: Containers from ship could land on Kerala coast
Kochi: Even as the Singapore-flagged container vessel MV Wan Hai 503 is being towed away into the deep sea off the Indian coast, containers that fell from the ship are likely to land in the southern part of Ernakulam district and on the coasts of Alappuzha and Kollam districts from Monday to Wednesday. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Kerala State Disaster Management Authority (KSDMA) has warned the public not to touch any object suspected to have fallen from the ship if they see it on the shore or coastal waters. It said that people should keep a distance of at least 200 metres and, when they see such objects, call 112 and inform the location of the object. A GIS-based web app has been developed for gathering information about wreck debris found on the coast. The app, developed with the support of ESRI India Ltd, can be downloaded by any user who finds suspicious debris likely from the ship. Details can be filled in English and Malayalam, and there is a provision to fill in the location so that officials can retrieve it safely. According to officials of the coast guard and Indian Navy, the ship was currently towed 57 nautical miles off the Kerala coast. Work is underway to shift it further. There is still fire and smoke on the ship. A tug vessel, Offshore Warrior, is pulling the ship while the coast guard ship Saksham is fuelling the tug so that it continues to operate without disruption.
