Kerala: Widespread rains; red alert issued in five districts

Kerala witnessed heavy rain and strong winds, causing tree falls and house damage. IMD issued a red alert in five districts and other alerts statewide. The rains, continuing since Friday night, led to widespread disruptions across northern and central regions

Thiruvananthapuram: Various districts of Kerala on Saturday experienced widespread rains and strong winds, causing isolated incidents of uprooting of trees and damage to houses in many places.

The felling of trees was reported in high-range areas of northern districts following incessant rains in many places since last night, local people said. A house was damaged in the coastal hamlet of Perumathura here after its tin roof was blown away following strong winds.

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Meanwhile, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Saturday predicted extremely heavy rainfall in five districts of the state–Kasaragod, Kannur, Wayanad, Kozhikode and Malappuram and sounded a red alert there.

Districts of Palakkad, Ernakulam, Thrissur, Idukki, Kottayam and Pathanamthitta were placed under an orange alert, while a yellow alert was issued in Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam and Alappuzha, as per the latest update of the IMD.

A red alert indicates heavy to extremely heavy rain of over 20 cm in 24 hours, while an orange alert means very heavy rain of 11 cm to 20 cm and a yellow alert predicts heavy rainfall between 6 cm to 11 cm.