Six districts in Kerala are likely to receive a spell of heavy to very heavy rainfall on Friday. The India Meteorological Department has issued an orange alert in Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Pathanamthitta, Alappuzha, Kottayam, and Idukki districts for October 29. The spell of heavy rain is likely to continue till October 31, Sunday, as a result of two low- pressure areas formed over the Arabian Sea and the central part of South Bay of Bengal. The IMD, in its latest bulletin, has stated that a low-pressure area has formed over central parts of South Bay of Bengal with associated cyclonic circulation extending up to 5.8 km over mean sea level. It is likely to move westward in the next few days. This is the fifth instance of low pressure formation over the Bay of Bengal in October. In addition to this, a depression has formed over the Arabian Sea. Under the influence of these two low-pressure formations, the IMD has predicted heavy rainfall and thunderstorms over Kerala between October 27 and 31. (A depression is an area of low pressure.) A trough extending from the southeastern Arabian Sea off the the Kerala coast to the central-eastern Arabian Sea off the Karnataka coast has also been identified. Kerala may also experience gusty wind speeding upto 40kmph in some places, the IMD predicted. An orange alert is declared heavy to very heavy rainfall (115.6-204.4mm) is expected, while a yellow alert is issued when heavy rain (64.5-115.5mm) is expected.
Latest rainfall forecast issued by IMD
Orange Alert
Oct 29, Friday: Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Pathanamthitta, Alappuzha, Kottayam, and Idukki.
Yellow alert
Oct 28, Thursday: Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Pathanamthitta, Alappuzha, Kottayam, Idukki, Ernakulam, Thrissur, Palakkad, Malappuram, Kozhikode, and Wayanad.
Oct 29, Friday: Ernakulam, Thrissur, Palakkad, Malappuram, Kozhikode, and Wayanad.
Oct 30, Saturday: Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Pathanamthitta, Alappuzha, Kottayam, Idukki, Ernakulam, Thrissur, Palakkad, Malappuram, Kozhikode and Wayanad.
Oct 31, Sunday: Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Pathanamthitta, Alappuzha, Kottayam, Idukki, Ernakulam, Thrissur and Palakkad.
Warning for fisherfolk
Fishermen are advised against venturing out to the sea from October 29 till 31. On October 27 and 28, tides reaching the height of 2 to 3 metres are likely to hit the Kerala coast. The Kerala State Disaster Management Authority (KSDMA) has advised those living along the sea shores to move to safe places on these days. It has also advised to securely lodge fishing vessels and boats at harbours. People are advised not to visit beaches and sea shores in the next few days. Kerala has been battered by a slew of landslides and floods in recent weeks after incessant rains in the region. Forty-two lives have been lost to various rain-related incidents across the state including two major landslides which were reported in Kottayam’s Koottickal and Idukki’s Kokkayar. According to the KSDMA, at least 90 houses were destroyed and over 700 were partially damaged. Experts attribute the extreme weather events to various causes, including the warming of the seas, unabated developmental activities wrecking the land and waterbodies and delayed withdrawal of the monsoon. The southwest monsoon withdrew from the entire country on Monday, making it the seventh-most delayed retreat since 1975, according to the national weather agency. Simultaneously, the northeast monsoon rains (Thulavarsham as it is known locally) commenced over southeast Peninsular India bringing rains to Tamil Nadu. Kerala has already received more rain than what is usually received in the period from October 1 to December 31.
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