IMD issues heavy rainfall warning, Red Alert for this state

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a very heavy or extremely heavy rainfall alert for several districts in the state for the next three days. IMD issues heavy rainfall warning, Red Alert for this state.

This is due to the strong westerly flow from the Arabian Sea to the south Peninsula in lower tropospheric levels in the region. Elaborating in its bulletin, the IMD said, a red alert has been issued for Ernakulam and Idukki for Saturday while an orange alert has been issued for Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Pathanamthitta, Alappuzha, Kottayam and Thrissur districts till May 16.

The weatherman has also issued a yellow alert for Malappuram, Kozhikode and Wayanad districts on these days. The IMD said squally weather with wind speed reaching 40-50 kmph is likely to prevail over Kerala coast and advised fishermen not to venture into sea till May 16.

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 rainfall. A yellow alert means heavy rainfall between 6 to 11 cm. The IMD has earlier predicted that the Southwest monsoon, which is also known as Edavapathi in the state, is likely to bring the first showers to Kerala by May 27, five days earlier than the normal onset date.