Radar images this morning reveal a fresh bout of rain in the battered northern districts of Kannur, Kozhikode, Wayanad, Malappuram and Palakkad even as relief and rescue operations are in top gear.
Home Minister Rajnath Singh will arrive in Kochi by noon and take an aerial survey of the worst-hit Idukki, after rains and consequently water level in the reservoir here relented a bit yesterday.
Radar images show that parts of Idukki, Pathanamthitta, Kollam and Thiruvananthapuram are receiving rain ahead of formation of fresh low-pressure area in the Bay of Bengal soon.
India Met Department (IMD) has already issued a red alert for eight districts in view of this. The disaster management team and the administration have been put on high alert and are prepared well.
Meanwhile, the relief and rescue operations in Kerala have come in for high praise from top disaster management experts and professionals.
They have pointed to Kerala as a shining example of having secured in time the badly-needed synergy of stakeholders as they fight back one of the worst natural disasters.
The level of synergy achieved amongst the national, state, and district agencies has been outstanding, says Delhi-based Sanjay Shrivastava, top disaster management expert and an Army veteran.
"This is historic occasion that brought the best out from political commitment of a Chief Minister and a proactive approach of a scientist managing the State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA)."
'COMPLIANT BUREAUCRACY'
One must also pay compliments to a largely compliant bureaucracy, the forces, the NGOs and an alert public, Shrivastava told BusinessLine .
On receipt of a timely early warning,the SDMA had conducted 'table top exercises' simulating a probable disaster scenario for August 7 to 9 till it morphed into reality and showed up as such on ground.
The planning and technical infrastructure has given an edge to Kerala in disaster management. It sets an example for the rest of the country on how to combat a disaster of this magnitude.
"You cannot stop calamities but if you have a combination of a technical expert at the SDMA, an active bureaucracy and the committed will of the Chief Minister, the response to any disaster gets simplified."
The upshot is that not only Kerala but the whole world is now well informed, connected, and have come together for a common cause thanks to proactive planning and synergised response, he added.