Shutters of dams in Thrissur and Palakkad districts were lifted this evening to drain out excess water.
Kerala is bracing for heavy to heavy rainfall in the next five days as a low-pressure area is most likely form in the Southeast Arabian sea, said the MeT department on Thursday.
A red alert has been declared across three districts of Kerala – Idukki, Palakkad, and Thrissur for October 7. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has asked central agencies for their support in the upcoming days. “Red alert has been declared in three districts for October 7. Disaster Management Authority has been met to assess the situation. We’ve sought support from central agencies and have asked for five companies of NDRF,” Vijayan said.
An Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) bulletin said the low-pressure area could intensify into a cyclonic storm, triggering heavy to very heavy rainfall in several parts of Kerala.
According to the bulletin, a cyclonic circulation over southeast Arabian Sea and adjoining Lakshadweep and Maldives areas extended "up to middle tropospheric level in the morning of Thursday and under its influence, a low-pressure area is very likely to form over southeast Arabian Sea by October 6."
"It is very likely to concentrate into a depression and move northwestwards during subsequent 36 hours and intensify further into a cyclonic storm and move towards Oman coast," the bulletin said.
Kerala's neighbour, Tamil Nadu has initiated measures following an IMD forecast that the state may receive heavy to very heavy rainfall in most places and extremely heavy rainfall in some areas on October 7, officials said.
Few other places like South interior Karnataka, Lakshadweep and Andaman & Nicobar islands are also expected to experience heavy showers for four days, starting from October 4 till October 8.
Reviewing disaster preparedness, a meeting of Disaster Management Authority officials held here Thursday asked officials concerned to monitor the water levels in dams considering the forecast.
Shutters of dams in Thrissur and Palakkad districts were lifted this evening to drain out excess water.
The sea condition is also expected to be very rough from saturday and fishermen have been warned not to venture into deep sea.
The state had witnessed the fury of the southwest monsoon in August, the worst in the last 100 years, which claimed 493 lives and swamped several districts.
Officials in Chennai said District Collectors in Tamil Nadu have been instructed to take required precautionary action, adding meetings have already been called to review northeast monsoon preparedness.
Deputy Director General of Meteorology, Chennai, S Balachandran told reporters at Chennai that rains were likely in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry in the next three days, with the possibility of heavy rainfall in one or two places.
Many areas in the state, including Chennai, and neighbouring union territory of Puducherry received rains in the last 24 hours with some parts receiving heavy showers, he said.
Most educational institutions in the union territory remained closed Thursday in view of the intermittent rains which started Wednesday night, officials said.
Waterlogging was reported in some residential areas on the outskirts of the town. Traffic came to a standstill at some important junctions, they added.
