Kerala Rains Latest Update: The India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Wednesday issued Orange alert to 11 districts of the state, indicating a probable decrease in the intensity of the rains hitting the southern state. On the other hand, the IMD withdrew the Red alert from the state. Notably, Orange alert has been issued for the day in all the districts barring Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam and Kasaragod where Yellow alerts have been issued.
Earlier, the IMD had declared Red alert in the districts of Kottayam, Idukki and Ernakulam for the day and Orange alert in the remaining districts.
The IMD has also issued Red alert in 4 districts — — and Orange alert in 8 for August 4. Various weather models of the Central Meteorological Department, National Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasting, National Centers for Environmental Prediction and European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, have predicted heavy rainfall in several districts of Kerala during the day.
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 and 11 cm. Meanwhile, the state government, in a release, said that 166 relief camps have been set up in various districts and 4,639 people have been relocated there from disaster-hit or disaster-prone areas.
Earlier in the day, state Revenue Minister K Rajan said that people should strictly avoid going to areas which are inundated or flooded as part of a growing trend of “flood tourism” and warned that police would be used to remove such persons. Speaking to reporters at Pathanamthitta, the minister said there is a growing trend among people to visit areas which are flooded and try to enter the waters there or catch fish and the same should be avoided as it creates an additional burden on the authorities carrying out relief and rescue operations.
The minister also said that there was no need to be concerned about the flood-prone low lying Kuttanad area of the state, but the authorities were monitoring the situation there. As there was some decrease in the intensity of rains in certain parts of the state in the early morning hours on Wednesday, water levels in various major dams and reservoirs were holding steady or had risen only marginally at around 7 AM, according to data received from various districts.
(With inputs from PTI)
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