Rains to intensify in Kerala; IMD issues orange alert in several districts

Thiruvananthapuram: Rains in Kerala are likely to intensify in the next few days as the India Meteorological Department on Thursday issued an orange alert in several districts of the state from May 18 to May 20.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued an orange alert for Palakkad and Malappuram for May 18, Pathanamthitta, Alappuzha and Idukki for May 19 and in seven districts of the state for May 20.

It also said that while an orange alert has been issued in some districts for May 20, the rainfall would probably be similar to that for the Red alert.

For today, the IMD issued a yellow alert in nine out of the 14 districts of the state.

A red alert indicates heavy to extremely heavy rain of over 20 cm in 24 hours, while orange alert means very heavy rain (6 cm to 20 cm). A yellow alert means heavy rainfall between 6 to 11 cm.