Kerala districts on high alert as the south-west monsoon hit the coasts of Kerala on Saturday (June 8). Ernakulam, Mallapuram, Thrissur and Kozhikode districts have been issued red alert by the Kerala Disaster Management Authority for June 11, and an orange alert for districts Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Alappuzha and Ernakulam till June 10.
According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), a red alert indicates very heavy to extremely heavy rainfall and an orange alert means heavy to very heavy rainfall. The Monsoon has hit Kerala coast after one week delay, officially commencing the south-west monsoon season in the state.
The state witnessed severe floods in August 2018 due to southwest monsoon rainfall. Around 350 lives were lost in this disaster. The state received 75% more rainfall than its average, causing the dams to fill up. Subsequently, the gates of 35 of the 54 existing dams were opened causing heavy flooding and landslides. The Central government had declared it a level 3 or a ‘calamity of severe nature’.
The IMD report also said that heavy rainfall over isolated places is expected in Tamil Nadu, coastal Karnataka, Lakshwadeep and Andaman and Nicobar while heatwave like conditions will continue to scorch Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Guajarat and Haryana for the next 4 days.