Heavy rains continued to lash several parts of Kerala on Wednesday, May 29, with several low lying areas in Thiruvananthapuram and Ernakulam districts heavily inundated with water. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has warned that very heavy rainfall was likely in Kerala over the next 24 hours, and heavy rainfall is expected in the state till June 2. The IMD also stated that the southwest monsoon is likely to arrive in Kerala in the next 24 hours.
The red alert issued in Ernakulam and Kottayam districts on May 28 was withdrawn. An orange warning has been reportedly issued in seven districts for May 29– Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Alappuzha, Pathanamthitta, Kottayam, Idukki, and Ernakulam districts, while a yellow warning has been issued for the remaining districts.
For May 30, a yellow warning has been issued in the abovementioned districts, along with Thrissur, Palakkad, Malappuram and Kozhikode. An orange warning indicates heavy (7 cm to 11 cm in 24 hours) to very heavy (12 cm to 20 cm in 24 hours) rainfall and a yellow warning indicates heavy rainfall (7- 11 cm in 24 hours).
In Thiruvananthapuram, shopkeepers in Chala market complained that the heavy rain resulted in water stagnation, blocking drains. They said that water started receding only in the evening. In Pazhavangadi and nearby places, shopkeepers had to remove goods that were kept in lower racks after water seeped into the premises. Many houses in Bund colony were inundated with water, and residents were shifted. The IT park in the city, Infopark, also faced water inundation.
The Kerala State Disaster Management Authority (KSDMA) had also informed the fishermen to keep their fishing vessels and mechanised boats safe in the respective harbour to prevent them from drifting away into the sea. Tourist spots have been shut down in several districts including Kottayam and Thiruvananthapuram, in addition to which a ban on night travel has been imposed on some of the hilly areas in Idukki district.
Landslides were reported in areas including Chokkallu of Bharananganam in Kottayam, damaging houses and properties. The wall of a house collapsed in Kakkanad near Kochi and the car parked in the house belonging to a man, Varghese, fell into a low-lying inundated ground, which was adjacent to the wall.
The downpour over the past few days disrupted daily lives in central and southern Kerala, with major cities witnessing long traffic snarls as roads became heavily inundated. Many shops and houses were also submerged in water as the heavy rains triggered flash floods in several areas.
On Tuesday, May 28, the automated weather station at Cochin University of Science and Technology (CUSAT) recorded an average rainfall of 103 mm of rain in one hour, which some experts said was due to cloudburst phenomenon. The deluge led to torrential rains and strong winds in Ernakulam, causing widespread waterlogging and halting traffic in Edappally, Kakkanad, Aluva, Thrikkakara, Kalamassery, Tripunithura, Fort Kochi, Thoppumpady, Mattancherry, and other major locations.