Fishermen have been advised to reach safety by 5 October.
Men carry food and water aid distributed to those stranded by floods in Pandanad in Alappuzha District in Kerala on 21 August 2018. (Photo: AFP PHOTO / MANJUNATH KIRAN)
Heavy rains are likely to batter Kerala for four days till 6 October, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said on Wednesday citing Met predictions. A red alert has been issued by the Met department for 7 October.
The warning comes just a month after calamitous floods killed over 400 people and displaced lakhs in the state.
“Met Centre has predicted that heavy (7-11 cm in 24 hours) to very heavy (12-20 cm in 24 hours) rainfall is likely to occur at 1 or 2 places in Kerala on 3rd, 4th, 5th & 6th of October,” tweeted Vijayan.
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Met Centre has predicted that heavy (7-11 cm in 24 hours) to very heavy (12-20 cm in 24 hours) rainfall is likely to occur at 1 or 2 places in Kerala on 3rd, 4th, 5th & 6th of October. Extremely heavy rainfall (21 cm & above in 24 hrs) is likely to occur at 1 or 2 places on 7th.
— CMO Kerala (@CMOKerala) October 3, 2018
“Extremely heavy rainfall (21 cm & above in 24 hrs) is likely to occur at 1 or 2 places on 7th,” he cautioned.
Quoting the Kerala CM, ANI reported that fishermen have been advised to reach safer coast by 5 October.
“Warning has been issued. Red alert has been declared in 3 districts for 7 October. Disaster Management Authority has met to assess the situation,” Vijayan said.
The CM added that the Kerala government has sought support from central agencies and asked for five companies of NDRF.
“District administration has been directed to take necessary action to handle the crisis. Tourists have been advised not to travel to hilly regions, especially to Munnar to see the Neelakurinji,” he was quoted as saying by ANI.
On 26 September, a yellow alert was issued for Idukki and Wayanad districts. Since 27 September, Pathanamthitta, Kottayam, Ernakulam, Idukki, Palakkad and Wayanad have been on high alert.
A total of 483 people died in rain-related incidents this monsoon. Speaking in the Kerala Assembly on 30 August, Vijayan said the losses due to the floods and landslides were more than the state’s annual plan, which was pegged at Rs 26,500 crore in 2017-18 fiscal year.
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