Thiruvananthapuram: The India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued a ‘Orange’ signal for the day in 12 districts of Kerala as the state continued to experience heavy rain.
For today, the ‘Orange’ alert has been issued in all of Kerala’s districts except for Thiruvananthapuram and Kollam.
Cyclonic circulation over northern Tamil Nadu and nearby areas, according to the Kerala State Disaster Management Authority, would provide isolated very heavy rains in numerous parts of the southern state.
On Wednesday, the Central Meteorological Department projected isolated heavy and very heavy rainfall in the state for the next two days, followed by heavy rainfall for the next two days.
Heavy rains have been falling in Kerala for the past few days, disrupting regular life in some parts of the state.
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan issued a flurry of directives a day ago to ensure that the authorities were prepared to address problems such as landslides and flooding, in light of the heavy rains and to be better prepared for the early beginning of monsoon in the state.
Local bodies should prepare a list of disaster-prone areas in their jurisdictions and provide it to the authorities concerned, such as police and fire services, ensure relief camps with adequate facilities are in place for evacuating people, and desilt gutters and rivers, according to the Chief Minister’s instructions.
Five teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) have already been dispatched to Kerala.
A red alert indicates heavy to extremely heavy rains of over 20 cm in 24 hours, while orange alert means very heavy rains from 6 cm to 20 cm of rain. A yellow alert means heavy rainfall between 6 to 11 cm.
The State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA) has advised residents to avoid rivers and other bodies of water until the rains have stopped.
People are also being advised not to travel to mountainous areas unless it is an emergency and to avoid night travel until the rain stops.
People have also been urged not to stay near high-tide coastal areas by district governments.
The IMD had previously projected that the Southwest monsoon, popularly known as Edavapathy in Kerala, will arrive five days ahead of schedule on May 27, five days earlier than usual.
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