Rains batter Kerala, yellow alert for 13 districts

PTI, Oct 13, 2020, 4:02 PM IST

Thiruvananthapuram: Incessant rains lashed most parts of Kerala on Tuesday under the influence of deep depression in the Bay of Bengal with the weatherman forecasting more spells including downpour in Kozhikode district.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has put Kozhikode district on Orange alert and others on yellow alert for Tuesday.

It has also issued yellow alerts for districts other than Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam and Pathanamthitta on Wednesday. Thrissur, Palakkad, Malappuram, Kozhikode, Wayanad, Kannur and Kasaragod districts have been issued yellow alert on Thursday.

In the last 24 hours, rain occurred at most places in the state with Vadakara in Kozhikode district receiving the heaviest spell of 9 cms, followed by Kannur, Vellanikkara in Thrissur district, Palakkad, Kollengode at Palakkad, Cherthala in Alappuzha district, Vythiri in Wayanad district, Mahe in Puducherry UT receiving 4 cms each. Orange alert indicates heavy rainfall to very heavy rainfall ranging from 6 cm to 20 cm of rain while yellow alert is heavy rainfall ranging from 6 cm to 11 cm.

“There have been heavy rains across Kerala for the last few days. Several houses in central Kerala suffered minor damages in the rain and heavy wind and at some places trees were uprooted causing minor damage,” a senior official from the state disaster management authority told PTI. According to the IMD website, the current spell of rain is due to the “deep depression over west-central Bay of Bengal which moved west-northwestwards.” The water level at Idukki dam has reached 2,391 feet prompting the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB), which manages the dam, to issue a Blue alert.

Blue alert is issued when water level reaches 2,387 feet. The Full Reservoir Level (FRL) of Idukki dam is 2,403 feet.