Heavy rain lashing parts of the State flooded low-lying areas in southern Kerala, disrupting normal life on Friday morning.
Roads and low-lying areas were flooded in the capital city on Friday, forcing motorists and pedestrians to wade through floodwaters. It took hours for stormwater to recede from the waterlogged regions.
Apart from Thiruvananthapuram, heavy rain threw life out of gear in Pathanamthitta and Idukki districts. A low-pressure area over the Bay of Bengal triggered the heavy rain spells during the fag end of monsoon season. The system is likely to intensify into a depression and cross the South Odisha-North Andhra Pradesh coasts around Saturday morning, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD)
While southern and parts of central Kerala took the brunt of the rain on Thursday and Friday, central and northern Kerala may receive heavy rain on Saturday and Sunday in tune with the moving weather system.
The strength of rain will subside gradually in line with the weather system moving away from the Arabian Sea coast.
The IMD has issued an orange alert for Kasaragod, Kannur, Kozhikode and Wayanad on Saturday, warning of very heavy category rainfall (115.5 to 204.4 mm in 24 hours), and a yellow alert for Malappuram, Palakkad, Thrissur, Ernakulam and Idukki, where heavy rainfall is likely. Kasaragod, Kannur, Kozhikode and Wayanad were also put on yellow alert on Sunday as well.
Neyyattinkara in Thiruvananthapuram district recorded the highest rainfall of 17 cm during the last 24 hours ending at 8.30 a.m. on Friday, followed by Thiruvananthapuram (15 cm), Peerumade in Idukki and Lower Sholayar in Thrissur (14 cm each), and Pirappancode in Thiruvananthapuram, Karumadi in Alappuzha district and Chacka in Thiruvananthapuram (11 cm each).
The Irrigation department has declared a yellow alert in the Achancoil river (Konni G D station) following heavy rain and rising water level in the river.
Popular ecotourism destinations such as Ponmudi and Mankayam will remain closed from Friday until further notice, the Divisional Forest Officer in Thiruvananthapuram said.
Another low-pressure area is expected to form over north and central Bay of Bengal by October 1. It is too early to forecast the system’s track and its likely impact on the monsoon current prevailing along the Kerala coast.
