Thiruvananthapuram: The India Meteorological Department has announced a red alert in three districts in Kerala in anticipation of heavy rainfall. Thrissur, Malappuram and Kozhikode districts were under red alert on Saturday. Meanwhile, an Orange alert has been issued in Idukki, Palakkad and Wayanad districts and a yellow alert in Pathanamthitta, Alappuzha, Kottayam, Ernakulam, Kannur and Kasaragod districts. The state disaster management authority said that the public should be cautious in the wake of the warning.
Two deaths were reported due to lightning in Thrissur. The rain that started on Saturday morning in the district has not subsided yet. Extensive damage has also been done. Three hospitals and several houses in the city were flooded. In Ollur, railway traffic was disrupted for a short time due to landslides on the tracks.
Earlier this week, heavy rains inundated low-lying sections of Kerala's south and central regions. In the district of Ernakulam, places such as Edappally, Kakkanad, Infopark, Sahodaran Ayyappan Road, Ernakulam South railway station, KSRTC bus stand, Palarivattom, Kaloor, Aluva, Thrikkakara, Kalamassery, Tripunithura, Fort Kochi, Thoppumpady, Mattancherry, Mundamveli, and West Kochi areas, experienced waterlogging and traffic jams.
"It was a real cloud burst in Kalamassery. The rain gauge at Cusat recorded 98.5 mm rainfall between 9.10 am and 10.10 am," said Cusat Advanced Centre for Atmospheric Radar Research director S Abhilash. Last week, Kerala experienced intense rain for a few days, and the westerly winds have gotten stronger. On May 21st, the three districts of Kottayam, Pathanamthitta, and Idukki are under a red alert from the India Meteorological Department (IMD) until Tuesday, meaning that the state remains on high alert.