IMD issues red alert for Kerala, is another disaster in offing!

Indian Meteorological Department has issued a red alert for extremely heavy rainfall on Sunday in the three districts of Kerala — Idukki, Thrissur and Palakkad. This is just after a month that continuous downpour for over a week devastated the ‘God’s own country’ and floods killed over 400 people in the state.

The alert was issued by the Met department after a low-pressure area in the Arabian Sea was identified,  close to Sri Lankan coast. Informing the detail, even Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan too cautioned the people of the state. He said, “This is likely to develop into a cyclonic storm and a warning has been issued on the same. The predicted trajectory will be along the coast of Lakshadweep.”

Vijayan even directed the district administration to make necessary arrangements. He said, “District administration has been directed to take necessary action to handle the crisis. Tourists have been advised not to travel to hilly regions, especially to Munnar to see the Neelakurinji.”

Advising the fishermen to stay off the coast, he said, “Fishermen have been advised to reach safer coast by 5 October. Warning has been issued. Red alert has been declared in 3 districts for 7 October. Disaster Mgmt Authority has met to assess the situation. We’ve sought support from central agencies&asked for 5 companies of NDRF.”

It is to be known that Kerala was hit by worst floods in a century in August. Government figures state that 43 people died while 54.11 lakh people in 14 districts of the southern state were severely affected.

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