In Kerala, the Met Department has issued a red alert in 11 districts in the state today, indicating the possibility of extremely heavy rainfall. Orange alert, which indicates isolated heavy to very heavy rain all is in place in the remaining three districts -Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam and Alappuzha.
The district authorities have declared d holiday for all schools and other educational institutions, including professional colleges in ten districts of the state. The holiday is applicable to anganwadis, coaching centres and madrasas. The Kannur University and the APJ Abdul Kalam Technical University have deferred all examinations scheduled for the day. Other examinations in the state, scheduled earlier, will be held.
The Met Department said squally weather with windspeed gusting up to 55 kmph is likely to prevail over the coasts of Kerala and Lakshadweep. Fishermen have been advised not to venture into the sea till the 29th of this month.
The Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) has issued d high wave alert for all coastal districts of the state. It said high waves up to 4 meters are likely along the coasts of Kerala and Lakshadweep today. INCOIS has advised against playing with small vessels and near-shore recreation activities.
Meanwhile, heavy rain lashed across several districts of Kerala yesterday, causing widespread damage to agriculture and property. Trees and power lines were uprooted at several places, leading to the disruption of traffic and causing damage to houses. Water inflow into the reservoirs has increased, due in which excess water is being let out from the dams.
Telangana is set to get the Southwest Monsoons ear,ly as Kerala already received eight days ahead of usual time. The IMD-Hyderabad has issued a heavy rainfall warning to several districts of Telangana for the next five days till May 30. The officials also noted the advancement of monsoons into West-Central and East-Central Arabian Sea, parts of Karnataka, entire Goa and parts of Maharashtra, parts of West-Central and North Bay of Bengal and parts of Mizoram. They informed that the conditions are favourable for further advance into some parts of the central Arabian Sea, parts of Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and other States in the next three days.
Hyderabad Met Centre chief, Dr K Nagaratna, informed that the weather is fast changing in Telangana with the onset of Southwest Monsoons in Kerala. She said there will be a drop in thunderstorms, which were pretty intense till recently during summer.
The officials forecast that light to moderate rainfall is very likely at several locations in the state, and the maximum temperatures are likely to remain below normal by at least 5 and 7 degrees Celsius.