October 15, 2023 09:51 pm | Updated October 16, 2023 11:18 am IST – THIRUVANANTHAPURAM
People being rescued from flooded houses by Fire and Rescue Services personnel at EMS Nagar, Thiruvananthapuram, on Sunday.
| Photo Credit: S. MAHINSHA
Heavy rain is likely to lash parts of Kerala till at least Tuesday, prompting the India Meteorological Department (IMD) to put various districts on orange and yellow alerts.
Kollam, Pathanamthitta, Alappuzha, and Idukki are on orange alert for isolated heavy to very heavy rainfall (11.5 cm to 20.4 cm in 24 hours) on Monday. The remaining 10 districts are on yellow alert for isolated heavy rainfall (6.4 cm to 11.5 cm in 24 hours).
All districts except Kannur and Kasaragod have been put on yellow alert on Tuesday, as per a 4 p.m. weather update issued on Sunday.
The Thiruvananthapuram airport recorded extremely heavy rainfall (21 cm) in the 24-hour period ending at 8.30 a.m. on Sunday, an IMD bulletin said. Parts of southern and central Kerala received heavy to very heavy rainfall.
Heavy waterlogging
Low-lying regions in Thiruvananthapuram city had experienced heavy waterlogging in the rain on Saturday night, prompting the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) to switch off supply to many populated areas as a precautionary measure.
The Thiruvananthapuram district administration said it has shifted 875 people to 21 relief camps in the district. Six houses were destroyed and 11 damaged in heavy rainfall. Majority of the relief camps are in Thiruvananthapuram taluk, where 580 people have been evacuated to 16 camps. Forty-one families have been shifted to one relief camp in neighbouring Kollam district.
Monday will be a holiday for all educational institutions, including professional colleges and Kendriya Vidyalayas in Thiruvananthapuram district, given the rainfall situation, the district administration said. The district is on yellow alert on Monday and Tuesday. With squally weather persisting along the Kerala coast, fishermen have been advised against setting out to sea on Monday.
Over coastal T.N.
A cyclonic circulation lies over coastal Tamil Nadu and its neighbourhood in the lower tropospheric levels, the IMD said. Another cyclonic circulation persists over Lakshadweep region and the adjoining south-east Arabian sea and Kerala coast and extends upto 3.1 km above the mean sea level.
Under its influence, a low pressure area is likely to develop over south-east and adjoining east-central Arabian Sea around Tuesday. It is likely to move west-northwestwards and intensify further during the subsequent 48 hours.