Red alert issued for four districts in Kerala on Monday

A red alert warning of extreme heavy rainfall has been issued for four districts on Monday by the India Meteorological Department (IMD). Malappuram, Kozhikode, Wayanad, and Kannur are likely to receive extreme heavy rainfall triggered by the effects of the cyclonic storm Fengal that crossed north Tamil Nadu and Puducherry coasts on Saturday night.

An orange alert has also been issued for four districts — Ernakulam, Idukki, Thrissur and Palakkad — warning of very heavy rainfall, and a yellow alert for Pathanamthitta, Alappuzha and Kottayam predicting isolated heavy rains.

According to a weather bulletin issued by the IMD on Sunday, the cyclone that made landfall remained practically stationary over north coastal Tamil Nadu and Puducherry for most parts of the day. It is likely to move westwards very slowly and weaken gradually into a deep depression over north coastal Tamil Nadu and Puducherry during the next six hours, said the bulletin.