Red alert in three districts of Kerala on Sunday, CM calls emergency meet

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Kerala government on Wednesday issued a red alert in three districts of the state for extremely heavy rains on October 7 after the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) issued a warning about a cyclonic depression over southeast Arabian sea and adjoining Lakshadweep.

The IMD has issued a heavy rain warning for heavy to very heavy rains till October 6 in many parts of Kerala, followed by extremely heavy rains on October 7 in Idukki, Palakkad and Thrissur districts. The Kerala State Disaster Management Authority (KSDMA) has issued a red alert in three districts on October 7.

An emergency meeting was convened by chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan alerting the coastal population and fishermen to be cautious. He said Idukki, Palakkad and Thrissur will be on Red alert due to the possibility of a deluge or cyclonic storm with extremely heavy rains.



"A low-pressure area is very likely to form over southeast Arabian sea and adjoining Lakshadweep area on October 6. It is likely to intensify into a depression and move north-westwards during subsequent 48 hours and the fishermen have been advised not to venture into the sea," KSDMA member secretary State Emergency Operations Centre (SEOC) head scientist Sekharhi Kuriakose told TOI.

Such a phenomenon has the possibility to cause sea erosion triggering floods and landslides, SEOC scientists warned. They have issued an advisory to all districts of the state. Till October 6, most districts in Kerala will be on Yellow alert which is the first level of disaster alert for caution and preparedness. Following that, the highest order of emergency warning or Red alert will be issued for three districts on October 7 due to extremely heavy rains of over 20cm.

With KSDMA and IMD, Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) has also issued the alert and advised fishermen not to venture into southeast and the central Arabian Sea from October 6 onwards. They also advised fishermen of deep-sea areas of southeast and the central Arabian Sea are advised to return to the coast before October 5

With that, chief minister convened an emergency meeting with KSDMA scientists and officials here on Wednesday.

"All preparedness will be in place with emergency measures on a war-footing in the state to minimise the risks involved in cases of any eventuality in Kerala due to extremely heavy rains and strong winds with rough seas. Three districts Idukki, Palakkad and Thrissur will be on Red alert on October 7," CM said at the meet. At low pressure over Southeast Arabian Sea will intensify into a depression, the effects of that could lead to sea erosion and flash floods and fishermen should be advised not to venture into the sea, he said.

"For rescue, the support of five National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams have been sought," CM said. He also advised the tourists not to visit hilly areas such as Munnar in the wake of the tourist attraction to have a glimpse of Neelakuriji or Stobilanthus flowers that bloom once in 12 years. He also advised people not to visit landslide prone hilly areas and flood prone low lying areas during heavy to extremely heavy rains.