 "Heavy Rainfall")
India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued an orange alert in four districts, namely Kollam, Pathanamthitta, Alappuzha and Idukki. Along with these four districts, there are some other districts where isolated heavy rainfall is expected and have been issued yellow alerts.
According to IMD, there is a cyclonic circulation over Southeast Arabian Sea and the adjoining Lakshadweep area, which can extend up to 3.1 km above sea level and will develop over the southeast and adjoining eastcentral Arabian Sea in the next 48 hours. The circulation is expected to move west-northwestwards and intensify into a depression over the central Arabian Sea around 21st October.
“A cyclonic circulation lies over coastal Tamil Nadu & neighbourhood and extends up to 3.1 km above mean sea level. A cyclonic circulation lies over the northeast Bay of Bengal and neighbourhood at 3.1 km above mean sea level,” the IMD department added.
The weather department indicated that the rainfall in the four districts will continue.
The in-charge of disaster management in the state and Revenue minister, K Rajan, convened a meeting in the state capital to oversee relief measures. The minister will also ensure the coordination of various government departments across the districts.
The minister told reporters that the emergency operation centres are currently functioning 24x7 at the district level, and directions have been given to the helpline number of these centres at the taluk and district level to the public. Officials who were on leave are requested to rejoin service except in case of a medical emergency.
The floodwater receded from Thiruvananthapuram city and most parts of larger districts on Monday, soon after the rainfall eased. The district has been severely impacted with flooding with dozens of homes submerged by water on Sunday following heavy rainfall. On Sunday morning, 216 mm of rainfall was reported in the Vellayani area, followed by 211.4 mm in Trivandrum city, 211 mm in Ponmudi, 200.2 in Neyyar dam and 188 mm in Neyyattinkara, stated IMD statistics.
State health minister Veena Gorge asked people to take caution as the risk of infectious diseases like leptospirosis is high. She has asked for the strengthening of health surveillance in the districts and increased availability of medicines. The minister further said those taking part in rescue operations should take doxycycline tablets prescribed by health professionals to avoid leptospirosis infection.
