Public warned to stay alert as monsoon intensifies in Kerala

Our Correspomndent

With 11.5 mm to 20.4 mm rainfall expected within 24 hours, the Kerala State Disaster Management Authority has urged the public to stay alert.

The meteorological centre has issued an orange alert on Wednesday and Thursday in some districts of Kerala due to heavy rainfall. Orange alert is sounded for Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Pathanamthitta and Idukki, yellow alert is issued in other districts on Wednesday and Thursday.

The State capital is experiencing heavy rain since Tuesday night. The shutters of Aruvikkara dam has raised by 10 centimeres.

In Kochi many places have been waterlogged within a day of rainfall. The Operation Breakthrough which was implemented to avoid waterlogging in monsoon not effective.

Many major roads including MG Road are under water. Houses in Perumbadappu and Maradu are flooded and rough sea is causing trouble in Chellanam. The shutters of Bhoothathankettu dam are kept open as the water level increased

There is heavy rain in Kottayam and nearby places also for the past 10 hours. Precautions have been taken in view of flood in Meenachl river and landslide in the area.

Waterlogging is likely in Kumarakom region if the rain continues. A tree uprooted in Chungam junction in Kottayam.

Various incidents of minor landslides were reported from different places in the district. Rain is continuing in Alappuzha, Idukki and Pathanamthitta districts as well.

As rainfall is likely to intensify, an orange alert has been issued for Idukki, Malappuram, Kozhikode and Wayanad on Thursday.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) recently said that the country has received six per cent more rainfall than normal so far in this monsoon season. Monsoon arrived in Kerala on June 1, its normal onset date, marking the commencement of the four-month rainfall season in the country. India is likely to get normal monsoon, according to the IMD’s forecast.

The south peninsula division has recorded 17 per cent more rainfall than normal. It covers Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. The IMD said Andhra Pradesh has so far recorded rainfall in the ‘large excess category’, while Tamil Nadu and Telangana have received ‘excess’ rainfall.