District administrations in Kerala have scrambled to deal with a potential rainfall-related emergency with the turbulent weather conditions over the Arabian Sea expected to trigger torrential rains over the next few days.
Five Kerala districts — Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Pathanamthitta, Alappuzha and Ernakulam — are on red alert today (Friday), given the likelihood of extremely heavy rainfall, according to a corrected weather update issued by the India Meteorological Department (IMD) at 1 p.m.
In a 10 a.m. update, the weather agency had downgraded the red alerts that were sounded in three districts on Friday to orange alerts.
IMD officials attributed the mix-up to a software glitch and said corrections were made as soon as the mistake was spotted.
As per the latest update, Kottayam, Idukki, Thrissur, Palakkad , Malappuram, Kozhikode and Wayanad are on orange alert today (Friday) and Kannur and Kasaragod on yellow alert.
Also, red alerts have been sounded in five northern districts — Malappuram, Kozhikode, Kannur and Kasaragod - on Saturday, while Kollam, Pathanamthitta, Alappuzha, Kottayam, Ernakulam, Idukki and Thrissur are on orange alert.
According to the State Government, 87 people have been evacuated to four relief camps so far in the State. The camps have been opened in Thiruvananthapuram (51 people), Kollam (24), Idukki (4) and Ernakulam (8). In all, 3071 buildings have been identified for opening relief camps across the State if weather conditions worsen. These camps can accommodate 4,23,080 people.
Twenty-five families residing near the Thoppayil beach in Kasaba, Kozhikode, moved to the homes of relatives after sea water entered their houses, the government said.
People residing in the coastal areas and landslip-prone hilly regions have been asked to remain watchful of the evolving weather situation. Fishing activities have been prohibited till further notice. On Thursday, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan requested the people to cooperate with the measures and evacuate to safer places if asked to do so by the district administrations.