Kerala rains: 7 die after heavy rainfall, IMD issues red and orange alert

At least seven people reportedly died in Kerala after heavy rainfall lashed parts of the state on Thursday, officials said. The southern state witnessed "heavier than normal pre-monsoon rains," even as much of South Asia grappled with a heatwave, Reuters cited officials as saying.

As per the report, a 70-year-old person died in a lightning strike in Kasaragod district on Wednesday. Meanwhile, his brothers aged 18 and 21 died after falling into a quarry filled with water in Palakkad on Tuesday.

"Four people also died in Idukki and Pathanamthitta districts after falling into water," an official of the Kerala the state's Disaster Management Authority (KSDMA) told Reuters.

Meanwhile, Currently, 223 people have been relocated to 8 camps across the state, according to an official release issued by the Kerala Chief Minister's office, as cited by ANI.

Kerala rain alert on May 23 and 24

The weather department had issued a red alert, predicting heavy to very heavy rainfall, in Ernakulam and Thrissur. While an orange alert was issued in the Pathanamthitta, Alappuzha, Kottayam, Idukki, Palakkad, Malappuram, Kozhikode and Wayanad districts of Kerala on Thursday, May 23.

As per the IMD, heavy to very heavy rainfall with extremely heavy falls was observed at isolated places over Kerala on Wednesday.

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Meanwhile, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) precited isolated heavy to very heavy rainfall to continue over south Peninsular India till May 24, "with possibility of extremely heavy falls over Kerala on 23rd May, 2024."

On Friday, May 24, a yellow alert has been issued in the districts of Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Alappuzha, Ernakulam, Thrissur and Palakkad. And orange alert in Pathanamthitta, Kottayam and Idukki.

In the wake of heavy rains, the IMD issued an alert for fishermen. It said, "As strong winds and bad weather are expected, it is not advisable to go to sea from the Kerala coast until further notice. The warning is requested to be followed strictly."

Meanwhile, the IMD predicted on Wednesday that a southwest monsoon will likely hit Kerala on May 31, with a model error of four days on either side. “Southwest Monsoon is likely to set in over Kerala on May 31 with a model error of ±4 days," the weather office said in its latest bulletin.