The Kerala police on Thursday revisited the logistics of last year’s flood relief and rescue operations to prepare for a worst-case scenario even as senior officers said there was no immediate cause for panic.
Officers privy to a contingency meeting chaired by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said they had posted lookouts near rivers, dams, lakes and on the coast to report surges and dangerous rise in water level.
The police telecommunications have set up a special control room at their State Headquarters here to receive rain and flood-related information.
They have dusted off details of last year’s volunteer rescue boats and teams operated by fishers to return them to rescue and relief operations in flood-affected localities, if required.
Senior officials have asked coastal police stations to contact parish leaders to arrange trucks to transport boats and rescue teams to flood-affected localities if such a need arose.
They have asked station house officials to stop traffic along hilly routes vulnerable to landslips and flash floods. The police have declared several beaches off-limits for holidayers. They have cautioned people against visiting Munnar in Idukki, which is witnessing heavy rain.
State police chief Loknath Behera has ordered district police chiefs to be vigilant. He has asked them to respond on a war footing to distress calls from citizens and civilian authorities.
At the police station level, supervisors have asked officers to keep wireless handsets and torches charged. They have moved inflatable dinghies from coastal stations to flood-affected localities in Malappuram, Kannur and Kozhikode for rapid deployment.