StatesKeralam
Orange alert in five Keralam districts as IMD warns of very heavy rain
Thiruvananthapuram, Malappuram, Kozhikode, Wayanad and Kannur are on alert, and the disaster management authority has told people in landslide-prone areas to be ready to move.
Key points
- Five districts are under an orange alert for isolated very heavy rain and thunderstorms.
- Nine more districts, from Kollam to Kasaragod, are under a yellow alert.
- KSDMA has told tourists to put off trips to waterfalls and hill areas until the alerts lift.
The India Meteorological Department on Saturday put five Keralam districts on orange alert, warning of isolated very heavy rain with thunderstorms, and the state’s disaster management authority asked people living in landslide-prone and flood-prone areas to be ready to move to safety.
The orange alert covers Thiruvananthapuram, Malappuram, Kozhikode, Wayanad and Kannur. Kollam, Pathanamthitta, Alappuzha, Kottayam, Idukki, Ernakulam, Thrissur, Palakkad and Kasaragod are under a yellow alert for isolated heavy rain.
The IMD defines very heavy rain as 115.6 mm to 204.4 mm in 24 hours, and heavy rain as 64.5 mm to 115.5 mm.
What people have been told
The Kerala State Disaster Management Authority asked residents of areas at risk of landslides and flash floods to move to safer places when officials tell them to, and people living on riverbanks and downstream of dams to take precautions. It advised vulnerable families to find out where relief camps are and move there in daylight.
People have been told not to cross rivers, bathe or fish in water bodies, and to avoid travel that is not essential. Trips to waterfalls, rivers and hill areas should be put off until the alerts are withdrawn, and drivers should not try to cross flooded stretches. The authority also warned of falling trees, electric poles, signboards and walls in strong winds.
Control rooms are working round the clock in districts and taluks, and the helplines 1077 and 1070 are open. The alerts may change if the IMD revises its forecast.