Heavy rain arrives in coming hours; alert issued for 10 districts

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: IMD has warned of heavy rains in the state today. Yellow alert has been issued in 10 districts. An alert has been sounded in Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Pathanamthitta, Kottayam, Ernakulam, Idukki, Thrissur, Palakkad, Malappuram and Kannur districts.

There is a possibility of moderate rain accompanied with lightning at isolated places over Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Pathanamthitta, Idukki, Kozhikode, Wayanad, Kannur and Kasaragod districts during the next three hours. Light to moderate rain accompanied with lightning and strong winds with a speed of less than 40 kmph are likely to prevail at isolated places in other districts, the IMD said. At the same time, there is no restriction on fishing along the Kerala- Karnataka and Lakshadweep coasts.

Heavy rains are lashing the eastern parts of Kollam district. Heavy rains are continuing in Thenmala, Edappalayam and Kazhuthurutty areas. Inundation also occurred in some areas of the region. Thenmala Market Road was flooded.

The Meteorological Department has observed that there is a possibility of a cyclonic storm in the Bay of Bengal. A warning has been sounded along the Odisha-West Bengal coast. The low pressure over the central-east Bay of Bengal has intensified into a deep depression. It is very likely to intensify into a cyclonic storm today and intensify into a severe cyclonic storm by tomorrow morning and make landfall along and off Odisha and West Bengal coasts between Puri and Sagar Island with a maximum speed of 120 kmph.

A low-pressure area is located over the midwestern Arabian Sea. It is likely to weaken and move away from the Indian coast during the next few hours. The cyclonic circulation is located over the Coast of Karnataka in the central and eastern Arabian Sea. There is another cyclonic circulation above Tamil Nadu. Due to these reasons, heavy rains accompanied by lightning are likely to occur in Kerala for the next one week.