Cyclone Tauktae: IMD issues red alert in Kerala districts, Lakshadweep
A cyclonic disturbance has formed over Lakshadweep and the Arabian Sea and "may evolve into a very severe cyclonic storm" by Sunday, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said Friday. A red alert has been declared in five districts of Kerala and Lakshadweep on Friday. The storm will likely intensity into a "very severe cyclonic storm," Cyclone Tauktae, over the weekend.
Storm intensifies into deep depression
The IMD bulletin at 2:30 pm said that a depression over Lakshadweep has intensified into a deep depression, about 50 kilometers north-northwest of Amini Divi. The storm is moving north-northwestwards and is expected to reach the Gujarat coast by Tuesday. It is expected to intensify into a cyclonic storm in the next 12 hours, the IMD bulletin stated.
Cyclone will reach Gujarat coast by Tuesday morning: IMD
"It is very likely to intensify into a cyclonic storm during the next 12 hours and is very likely to intensify further during the subsequent 24 hours," the bulletin stated, predicting a "very severe cyclonic storm" on Sunday. "It's very likely to move north-northwestwards and reach near Gujarat coast during 2100 UTC of 17th (2:30 am, Monday) to 0000 of 18th May (5:30 am)."
Extremely heavy rainfall over isolated areas in Lakshadweep, Kerala, TN
According to the IMD, on May 14-16, heavy to very heavy rainfall is likely at a few places over Lakshadweep and Kerala, over Tamil Nadu, and the coastal and adjoining ghat districts of Karnataka. Isolated extremely heavy falls are possible over Lakshadweep on May 14, Kerala from 14-15, and Tamil Nadu and aforementioned Karnataka districts on May 15.
Rough-very rough sea conditions predicted over southeast Arabian Sea
The IMD has predicted rough to very rough sea conditions on May 13-14 over the southeast Arabian Sea and Lakshadweep coast. A tidal wave of about 1-meter height above the astronomical tide is likely to inundate low-lying areas of Lakshadweep islands on May 15-16.
Heavy rain in parts of Maharashtra, Goa, Konkan regions
Kolhapur and Satara in western Maharashtra are expected to receive heavy to very heavy rain at isolated places in ghat areas on Sunday and Monday. A similar warning has been issued for Pune on Monday only. South Konkan and Goa regions will receive light to moderate rainfall on Saturday, and heavy to very heavy rainfall at a few places on Sunday and Monday.
24 NDRF teams pre-deployed in coastal areas of five states
The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has earmarked 53 teams to tackle possible after-effects of cyclone Tauktae, NDRF Director General SN Pradhan tweeted on Friday. These teams are being deployed in the coastal regions of Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, and Maharashtra. Out of these, 24 have been pre-deployed or stationed on the ground while the rest are on stand-by.
Red alert in 5 Kerala districts; 7 on orange alert
Five Kerala districts — Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Pathanamthitta, Alappuzha, and Ernakulam — are on red alert on Friday, given the likelihood of extremely heavy rainfall. Meanwhile, Kottayam, Idukki, Thrissur, Palakkad, Malappuram, Kozhikode, and Wayanad are on orange alert, and Kannur and Kasaragod on yellow alert. Red alerts have been sounded in five northern districts — Malappuram, Kozhikode, Kannur, and Kasaragod — on Saturday.
87 people evacuated to four relief camps: Kerala government
The Kerala government said that 87 people have been evacuated to four relief camps so far, reported The Hindu. The camps have been opened in Thiruvananthapuram (51 people), Kollam (24), Idukki (four), and Ernakulam (eight). A total of 3,071 buildings — with an accommodation capacity of 4,23,080 people — have been identified for opening relief camps across the state should the weather conditions worsen.
