Kerala on alert as heavy rain and winds wreak havoc
According to IMD, red alerts have been issued for Malappuram, Kozhikode, Wayanad, Kannur and Kasaragod on Saturday
Relentless rain and gusty winds continued to batter Kerala on Friday, flooding low-lying areas, damaging property and disrupting daily life, as the India Meteorological Department (IMD) warned of even more intense weather over the weekend.
The weather agency issued an orange alert for eight districts on Friday and upgraded its warning to a red alert for several northern districts on Saturday and Sunday, signalling the likelihood of extremely heavy rainfall.
According to the IMD, red alerts have been issued for Malappuram, Kozhikode, Wayanad, Kannur and Kasaragod on Saturday, while Malappuram, Kozhikode and Wayanad will remain under red alert on Sunday.
For Friday, orange alerts were in force in Ernakulam, Thrissur, Palakkad, Malappuram, Kozhikode, Wayanad, Kannur and Kasaragod districts, with yellow alerts covering the rest of the state.
Heavy showers inundated several low-lying areas in Kochi, where waterlogging and flooding triggered protests outside the Kochi Corporation office, with residents demanding swift remedial action.
In Kozhikode, strong winds accompanied by heavy rain damaged roofs of buildings and brought down tree branches, causing damage to parked vehicles and property.
The IMD also warned of thunderstorms accompanied by moderate to heavy rainfall and wind speeds reaching up to 40 kmph across several districts.
A red alert indicates the possibility of extremely heavy rainfall exceeding 20 cm within 24 hours, while an orange alert denotes very heavy rainfall between 11 cm and 20 cm. A yellow alert is issued when rainfall is expected to range between 6 cm and 11 cm.
With rain intensity expected to increase over the next two days, authorities are closely monitoring vulnerable areas and urging residents to remain alert, particularly in flood-prone and landslide-prone regions.
The forecast of sustained heavy rainfall has raised concerns about further flooding, traffic disruptions and damage to infrastructure as Kerala heads into another wet and turbulent weekend.
With PTI inputs