Thiruvananthapuram: Heavy downpour across central and south Kerala districts leads to water-logging and water level rising across many rivers in Alappuzha, Kottayam, Kollam and Thiruvananthapuram districts. The official weather department has issued orange alerts for districts in the state – Kottayam, Ernakulam, Idukki and Thrissur. The weather department has forecasted that the heavy rains will continue till October 27 due to the impact of Cyclone Dana which made landfall across Odisha during late Thursday.
Due the heavy rain warning, the Kottayam district administration has imposed restrictions that will remain in effect until Saturday. The District Collector has announced that entry to popular tourist spots like Ilaveezhapoonchira and Illikkal Kallu is prohibited. Trekkers are been advised not to venture in high altitude regions, especially landslide prone regions where there as been instances of landslides earlier. Night travel on the Erattupetta-Vagamon road and in other hilly areas has also been banned. Additionally, mining activities in the district have been suspended until Saturday.
“The effect of Cyclone Dana will continue at least for the next one week. Meanwhile, we advise people in the fisherman hamlets not to venture into the sea as there are heavy tides and rough sea that could be witnessed in the coming days. People living near the Chellanam coasts should also exercise caution as there could be salt water incursion to a small extend”, said a senior official in the MET department, Thiruvananthapuram.
Meanwhile, excess rainfall continue to lash across the rural and coastal regions of Kollam and Thiruvananthapuram. People living on either side of the Karamana river has been asked to remain vigilant.
An orange alert was issued for the districts of Kottayam, Ernakulam, Idukki, and Thrissur on Friday, while a yellow alert is in place for Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Pathanamthitta, Alappuzha, Palakkad, Malappuram, and Kozhikode.
In order to ensure the safety of people living near river beds, shutters of the Aruvikkara dam has been opened by 3 cm today morning.
