Heavy downpour inundates Kerala; IMD issues orange alert for 6 districts

A spell of heavy rainfall over the last 24 hours has caused severe water-logging in several low-lying areas in Kerala. Taking cognisance of the incessant rainfall, the Indian Meteorological Department has issued an Orange alert in six worst-affected districts of the state. The districts for which the alert has been issued are – Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Pathanamthitta, Alappuzha, Kottayam and Idukki. The weather department has also issued an alert of extremely heavy rainfall in these six districts today, news agency PTI reported.

In addition to these districts, the IMD has also issued a ‘yellow alert’ for Ernakulam, Thrissur, Palakkad, Malappuram, Kozhikode, Kannur, Wayanad and Kasaragod districts. IMD has warned that heavy to very heavy rainfall is expected to take place in these areas. Thunderstorms are also expected to occur in a few other places in Kerala in the next 3-4 days.

Owing to continuous heavy rainfall in capital city Thiruvananthapuram since last night, widespread damage has been reported in the city. The district authorities have also sounded an alert and are rescuing people from worst-affected, vulnerable areas. Due to incessant rains and mud flow, infrastructural damage has also been reported at a few places in the city including the Thiruvananthapuram-Nagarcovil rail route which became dysfunctional as mud fell on its track.

A bridge also got submerged by the incessant rains and was later washed away in the national highway of Neyyattinkara. An orange alert is the second most alarming warning issued by the weather department after the Red alert and indicates prediction of very heavy rainfall in the indicated region.