The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued red alert in six districts as Kerala is expected to receive heavy rainfall from July 17 to July 20.
Red alert has been sounded in Idukki (July 18 to 20), Malappuram (July 18 to 20), Wayanad (July 19), Kannur (July 19), Ernakulam (July 20) and Thrissur (July 20). These districts are likely to get extremely heavy rainfall of over 240 mm in 24 hours and may experience landslides.
The IMD has issued orange alert in Idukki (July 17), Kottayam (July 18), Ernakulam (July 19), Palakkad (July 19 and 20), Kozhikode (July 20), Wayanad (July 20) and Kannur (July 20) that are expected to get rainfall between 115 mm to 204.5mm.
"There are possibilities of flooding and landslides. So people have been asked to be cautious and take precautions to keep themselves safe," Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan wrote in a Facebook post. The Met Department’s advisory also lists some districts where ‘yellow alert’ will be in force. They are:
July 16: Idukki, Malappuram, Kozhikode, Wayanad and Kannur
July 17: Kottayam, Ernakulam, Malappuram, Kozhikode and Kannur
July 18: Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Pathanamthitta, Alappuzha, Ernakulam, Thrissur, Palakkad, Kozhikode, Wayanad, Kannur and Kasaragod
July 19: Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Pathanamthitta, Alappuzha, Kottayam, Thrissur, Kozhikode and Kasaragod
July 20: Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Pathanamthitta, Alappuzha, Kottayam and Kasaragod
Considering the weather situation, the Kerala State Disaster Management Agency has directed the government departments concerned and officials to take adequate measures to deal with the situation and open control rooms at the taluk level.
Residents of areas where the alerts have been sounded and those living in places where flooding had occurred last year should keep an emergency kit containing all important documents and other valuables ready. They have to be ready to relocate to safe places as directed by the officials in case of an extreme situation.
The emergency kit has to be kept ready also by residents of landslip-prone areas. They include people living in areas where landslides occurred in 2018 or cited as uninhabitable by the Geological Survey of India. This alert is applicable also to people who lost houses in landslides and are now living in incomplete houses or whose dwellings are yet to be repaired. They should be ready to move to safe camps and the government has issued instructions to open such facilities.
