Thiruvananthapuram: Heavy rain accompanied by lightning continued to batter Kerala with the arrival northeast monsoon. The India Meteorological Department has sounded a yellow alert for five districts- Kollam, Pathanamthitta, Alappuzha, Idukki and Ernakulam districts on Friday.
As per the IMD forecast, Kerala will continue to witness moderate to heavy downpour till October 30 under the influence of the cyclonic circulation over the Southwestern part of the Bay of Bengal near the Tamil Nadu coast.
The IMD has advised the public to exercise extreme caution to avoid lightning strikes.
Heavy rain accompanied by lightning and gusty winds speed reaching up to 40 km per hour is likely to lash Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Pathanamthitta, Alappuzha, Kottayam, Idukki, Ernakulam, Thrissur and Kozhikode districts by 6 pm on Friday.
Yellow alert in districts
Oct 28 : Kollam, Pathanamthitta, Alappuzha, Kottayam, Idukki, Ernakulam, Kozhikode, Wayanad
Oct 29 : Kottayam, Idukki, Ernakulam, Thrissur, Palakkad, Kozhikode, Wayanad, Kannur
Oct 30: Pathanamthitta, Kottayam, Idukki, Ernakulam, Thrissur, Palakkad, Malappuram, Kozhikode, Wayanad
A yellow alert indicates heavy rainfall ranging from 64.5 millimetres to 115.5 millimetres within 24 hours.
High tide warning sounded
The Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services has sounded a high tide warning for the Kerala coast on October 27, Friday. Fishermen and coastal residents are advised to extreme caution till 11.30 pm as there is a possibility of sea incursion with tidal waves touching 1.8 metres. People are also advised not to venture into the sea and visit beaches due to the rough sea conditions.
But fishermen are allowed to venture into the sea off Kerala and Lakshadweep coasts on Friday.
