Red alert in south India: Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh facing threat

Kerala continues to battle monsoon rains on Thursday. The state is facing the worst floods in history with as many as 73 death due to the rain-related incident, of which 24 died on 15 August alone. Additionally, as many as 20 people are feared dead in different parts of the State on Thursday.

#KeralaFloods: Death toll rises to 73 across the state; Visuals from Kerala’s Pathanamthitta district. pic.twitter.com/V0f486B8vB

— ANI (@ANI) August 16, 2018

Authorities in Kerala have released toll-free number for the help of ailing people.

Very serious situation is prevailing in the state as nearly all villages are flood affected. I had a telephonic conversation with PM, HM and Defence minister, they have offered all support. More helicopters to be deployed soon: Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan on #KeralaFloods pic.twitter.com/nFkLVNDSe6

— ANI (@ANI) August 16, 2018

12 districts in #Kerala are severely affected. These are the worse floods since 1924. I met PM, Home Minister & Def Minister y’day. Army, Navy, IAF, Coast Guard & NDRF are conducting rescue&relief ops. It is predicted that water levels will rise: Union Tourism Minister KJ Alphons pic.twitter.com/Ofw6d2WJ43

— ANI (@ANI) August 16, 2018

Tamil Nadu: the Regional Meteorological Centre here on Wednesday evening forecast that light to moderate rain or thunderstorm is likely to occur in many places in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry in the next 24 hours.

“The sky condition is likely to be cloudy in Chennai in the next 24 hours. A few spells of light to moderate rain or thundershower are likely to occur in some areas. Maximum and minimum temperatures are likely to be around 32 degrees Celsius and 26 degrees Celsius respectively,” the Regional Meteorological Centre said.

Karnataka; As rains continue to pour to large parts of Karnataka, the state government has issued flood alert for many districts. Most of the affected regions are in the coastal areas. Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy on Wednesday ordered district officials to be prepared for relief operations and to be ready for any untoward situation. In an official statement issued from his office said deputy commissioners of Dakshina Kannada, Kodagu, Hassan, Chikkamagaluru and Shivamogga districts should be prepared to take up relief work. These are the districts that have been affected by heavy rains in the past few days.

The Chief Minister has directed the officials to take preventive measures to avoid any accidents due to flood and landslides.

According to the State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre, coastal districts like Dakshina Kannada received 33.8 cm rain, Udupi 35.7 cm, Uttara Kannada 33.6 cm in the past 24 hours.

Besides these, Kodagu district received 28.8 cm rainfall, Chikkamagaluru 25.1 cm, Hassan 24.5 cm and Shivamogga 33.6 cm.

Andhra Pradesh
Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) has issued an alert advising fishermen along the state’s coast not to venture into the sea.

“Under the influence of well-marked low-pressure area over northwest Bay of Bengal and the neighbourhood and strong monsoon conditions, strong surface winds from westerly direction speed reaching forty-five to fifty kmph likely along and off coastal Andhra Pradesh,” INCOIS said. It also said that waves as high as 3 to 3.5 meters were forecasted between 5:30 pm on Wednesday and 11:30 pm on Friday along the coast from Dugarajapatnam to Baruva.

Also Read: Kerala rain: Flight operation at Cochin Intl Airport suspended, Navy rescues four