Possibility of light to moderate rainfall in Kerala during next 24 hours: IMD

On Saturday, the south and central parts of the state were pounded by heavy rain, resulting in the loss of at least 18 lives.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Sunday projected “only light to moderate rainfall" over Kerala during the next 24 hours as the state, on Saturday, was pounded by heavy rain, which claimed at least 18 lives, while 22 people were feared missing due to landslides triggered by the showers in hilly areas of the Kottayam and Idukki districts.

A flood-hit area in Kerala (HT Photos)

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“The low pressure area over the southeast Arabian Sea and adjoining Kerala has become less marked. There is a possibility of light to moderate rainfall at many places with only isolated heavy rainfall over the state during the next 24 hours and further decrease thereafter,” news agency ANI reported, citing an IMD bulletin for the southern state.

 

Though the rainfall subsided on Sunday morning, the toll is likely to rise, as rescuers recovered another body from a village in the Idukki district. The armed forces--Army, Navy and Air Force--have been pressed into service, with choppers of the Navy, earlier today, dropping food packets for those left stranded due to the rain. The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), too, is carrying out rescue operations in the badly affected south and central parts of the state.

Additionally, authorities have urged devotees not to visit the renowned Sabarimala temple in the Pathanamthitta district on Sunday and Monday.

Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan said in a Facebook post that “hectic” relief and rescue operation is underway, while K Rajan, who holds the revenue portfolio, said that the situation was “under control.”