Government agencies have been put on alert in Kerala with heavy rainfall expected to lash the southern State till at least Friday.
The State Emergency Operations Centre (SEOC) has been activated and the district and taluk-level emergency operation centres will function round the clock, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said. The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) is on standby, he said.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has put Idukki and Kannur districts on red alert for extremely heavy rainfall on Tuesday. ‘Extremely heavy rainfall’ indicates the possibility of rainfall in excess of 20 cm in a 24-hour period. All other districts, except Thiruvananthapuram and Kollam, are on orange alert for isolated heavy to very heavy rainfall (12-20 cm). Thiruvananthapuram and Kollam, which are on yellow alert, can expect isolated heavy rainfall (7-11 cm in 24 hours) on Tuesday, according to a 4 p.m. update on Monday.
All districts, except Thiruvananthapuram and Kollam, are on orange alert on Wednesday also, according to a five-day rainfall forecast for the State. Heavy rainfall is likely to persist in parts of the State till Friday.
Girl killed
An 11-year-old girl, Aishat Minha, died at Angadimogar, Kasaragod, on Monday evening after being caught under a falling tree branch. She was returning from school when the disaster struck.
Mr. Vijayan urged the people to remain alert and cooperate with the government’s disaster management measures. He said seven teams of the NDRF are ready for deployment in Idukki, Pathanamthitta, Malappuram, Wayanad, Kozhikode, Alappuzha, and Thrissur.
Strong waves
The Kerala State Disaster Management Authority has asked people residing in the coast to remain vigilant, given the possibility of strong waves. The Kerala coast can expect high waves in the range of 3.5 m to 3.7 m between 5.30 p.m. and 11.30 p.m. till Wednesday, according to a warning issued by the Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS).
Fishers have been warned against setting out to sea as squally weather is likely along the Kerala coast till Friday.
The southwest monsoon has shown signs of strengthening this week after a long lull. Kerala has reported 58% deficiency in monsoon rainfall between June 1 and July 3. All 14 districts have reported deficient rainfall, with Idukki, Kozhikode, Malappuram, Palakkad and Wayanad recording ‘large deficiency,’ or rainfall deficiency in excess of 60%.
The western end of the monsoon trough at mean sea level lies to the north of its normal position and the eastern end runs near its normal position. An off-shore trough at mean sea level runs from the south Maharashtra coast to the Kerala coast, the IMD said.
