September 29, 2023 11:28 am | Updated September 30, 2023 02:28 am IST – THIRUVANANTHAPURAM
A man rides his bike during heavy rain in Kochi in Kerala on September 28, 2023.
| Photo Credit: Thulasi Kakkat
Several Kerala districts can expect isolated heavy rainfall till Sunday, according to a Friday evening weather update from the India Meteorological Department (IMD).
Ten districts have been put on yellow alert (7-11 cm in 24 hours) on Saturday; Alappuzha, Ernakulam, Idukki, Thrissur, Palakkad, Malappuram, Kozhikode, Wayanad, Kannur and Kasaragod. The remaining districts can expect light to moderate rainfall.
Three districts are on yellow alert on Sunday; Ernakulam, Kozhikode and Kannur.
The Thiruvananthapuram district administration has temporarily banned quarrying and mining and non-essential travel to the hill areas and the backwaters and coastal regions of the southern district until further orders. The decision was taken after the district was put on orange alert for very heavy rainfall for Friday. People residing near the river banks in Thiruvananthapuram were advised to remain alert as the shutters of the Peppara and Neyyar dams have been raised to let off excess inflow.
Many parts of Ernakulam town are flooded following Friday’s heavy showers. A scene from the KSRTC bus stand.
| Photo Credit:
Thulasi Kakkat
Kerala districts, including capital Thiruvananthapuram received steady rainfall on Friday.
Low pressure areas over Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal are expected to become well-marked over the next two days, the IMD said in a Friday afternoon weather bulletin.
The low-pressure area over east-central Arabian Sea off south Konkan and Goa coasts is likely to become a well-marked low pressure area by Saturday. It is likely to persist over the same region during the subsequent 24 hours. Another low-pressure area over north-east and adjoining east-central Bay of Bengal is likely to become a well-marked low pressure area and move northwestwards towards north Odisha and the adjoining West Bengal coast during the weekend.
A cyclonic circulation lies over south-west Bay of Bengal off the Tamil Nadu coast at middle tropospheric levels, the IMD said.
Meanwhile, the Southwest Monsoon rainfall deficit in Kerala stands at 36%. Only Alappuzha district has recorded ‘normal’ rainfall for the season so far. The remaining 13 districts are still in the ‘rainfall deficient’ list. The combined storage in the hydel reservoirs managed by the Kerala State Electricity Board stands at 48%, equivalent to 1985.6 million units (mu).
