Thiruvananthapuram, October 7: In the wake of the red alert issued by the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the Indian Coast Guard has deployed aircraft and ships off Kerala and South Tamil Nadu coasts to broadcast warnings on VHF and to advise fishermen at sea to return to harbour. In addition to this, the two ICG disaster response teams have been formed at Kochi, and Gemini lifeboats kept on standby for deployment at short notice.

The Indian Coast Guard formations have also been put on high alert after issuance of warning by the IMD regarding the formation of low pressure in South East Arabian Sea on October 1 and likely development into depression.

Yesterday, the IMD predicted the potential conversion of depression in the Arabian Sea into a cyclonic storm, so the red alert was sounded in two districts of Kerala and southern Tamil Nadu. As per the IMD bulletin, parts of South India are likely to witness "extremely heavy rainfall" over the next 48 hours. The relief camps have been opened up, Special Disaster Response Force (SDRF) units were deployed in all districts and dam shutters raised in advance with the aim of releasing 100 cubic metres of water per second if the rainfall intensifies.

In Tamil Nadu, district collectorates have been instructed to take necessary precautionary action. In neighbouring Puducherry, the incessant rainfall has already engulfed the union territory since Wednesday. Due to this schools have been asked to remain closed for two days.

In August heavy rains had lashed Kerala. Around 400 people lost their lives due to floods and landslides caused by heavy rains. The Centre had declared it as ‘the calamity of severe nature’ and issued a financial aid of Rs 500 crore to the state. The India Coast Guard was also the part of the ‘Operation Madad’ launched by the Indian Defence Forces in evacuating people to safe locations.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Oct 07, 2018 06:25 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).