Rain to continue; red alert for three districts on Friday

The heavy rain that had been lashing parts of central and north Kerala for the last few days is likely to continue with strong westerlies prevailing over the State and Lakshadweep in the lower tropospheric levels. The heavy rain accompanied by strong winds left a trail of destruction in parts of north Kerala, where the Western Ghat regions have been witnessing very heavy rain since July 15.

Hosdurg in Kasaragod recorded the highest rainfall of 18 cm in the last 24 hours ending at 8.30 a.m. on Thursday, followed by Irikkur, Cheruvanchery, and Peringome in Kannur with 17 cm each; Taliparamba in Kannur with 16 cm; and Kudulu, Padannakkad, and Bayar in Kasaragod with 15 cm each. 

Meanwhile, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued a red alert warning of extreme heavy rainfall for Kasaragod, Kannur, and Wayanad districts on Friday. The IMD also put three districts, Kozhikode, Malappuram, and Idukki, on orange alert, warning of very heavy rain. Yellow alert will continue in the rest of the State except Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam and Alappuzha on Friday.