The Indian Meteorological department (IMD) has warned that certain districts in Kerala are likely to witness heavy rains in the next 24 hours. Pathanamthitta, Alappuzha, Kottayam, Ernakulam, Idukki, Thrissur, Palakkad, Malappuram, Kozhikode, Wayanad and Kannur are in the red alert zone. Yellow alert has been issued in Kollam and Kasaragode, whereas Thiruvananthapuram is the only district with green alert.
The news comes as a setback for Kerala reeling under unprecedented heavy rain and flooding. Notably, the IMD had issued a moderate yellow alert in Kozhikode, Wayanad and Kannur on Saturday morning but revised it by 1 pm. The IMD's latest alert comes even as it informed in its alert on Saturday morning that rain had weakened in most areas of Kerala with red and orange alerts being changed to yellow alerts.
Red alert warns of heavy rainfall, while yellow denotes heavy rainfall at isolated places. A green alert is for light to moderate rainfalls.
Heavy rains accompanied by gusty wind with speed reaching up to 60 kmph will likely hit Pathanamthitta, Idukki, Malappuram and Wayanad districts.
Waning rain intensity was a welcome change on Saturday which saw rescue operations and relief efforts being scaled up. More than 150 people have been killed in the floods and rain-related incidents in Kerala in the past three days. Close to 4 lakh people have been shifted to more than 2,500 relief camps across the state.