Kerala has rained rather heavy in the opening week of August. All 5 days of the month experienced plentiful monsoon showers. All parts of the state got copious rains, albeit in a staggered manner. Deluge at some places warranted evacuation of vulnerables to safe shelters. Thousands of residents from central and northern districts of Kerala were forced to move to relief camps, when monsoon rains caused floodwaters to rise in various rivers. Fearing overflowing of dams due to incessant rains in the catchment areas, the gates have been opened, increasing the runoff further downstream. Rising waters across the water bodies have resulted in the disruption of essential services in some areas.
Halfway through the season, Kerala was the only state in South India having deficit rainfall. In the opening and also the rainiest month of Kerala, the monsoon suffered a large deficiency of -52% between 01st and 30th June. During July, some recovery was made in instalments, but the state remained in deficit by -26% at the end of the month. The start of August announced a deluge for various parts, with red alert getting sounded at least in half of the districts. Seasonal status has now turned normal with the shortfall dropping below 20%.
Central and northern districts have witnessed heavy rains in the past 24hr. Kannur, Munnar, Bekal, Valparai and Palakkad received heavy showers and Munnar was the heaviest with 190mm. More heavy rains are likely over these parts in the next 24hr. Kasaragod, Kannur, Kudlu, Thalassery, Wayanad, Kozhikode, Malappuram, Thrissur and Palakkad will be at risk of red alert for the next 24hr.
The rains are expected to ease out and mostly moderate and isolated heavy showers are likely on 06thAug. The downpour will relax further from 07thAug onward and only light to moderate intermittent spells are likely till the middle of next week.
