New Delhi, August 14: Monsoon in the southern states including Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu will intensify over the next 48 hours, the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted. The IMD further said due to a dip in pressure in the Bay of Bengal, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh will receive extremely heavy rain over 24 hours. “Under the influence of a fresh low-pressure area, the northeastern states, West Bengal, Odisha, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Bihar, East Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh.

In the wake of heavy rainfall in Kerala, the IMD has issued a ‘Red Alert’ for Idukki, Wayanad, Kannur, Ernakulam, Palakkad and Malappuram districts, which are expected to witness heavy rainfall. The death toll due to floods in the state has risen to 37. Rough sea conditions are likely to prevail along the western coast, including the coasts of Maharashtra and Gujarat.

According to statistics released by the Home Ministry, the floods in seven states in the country have killed at least 774 people this season. The states are Kerala (187), Uttar Pradesh (171), West Bengal (170), Maharashtra (139), Gujarat (52), Assam (45) and Nagaland (8). Reports inform that the deluge and rains have hit 26 districts in Maharashtra, 23 in Assam, 22 in West Bengal, 14 in Kerala, 12 in Uttar Pradesh, 11 Nagaland and 10 in Gujarat.

There have been 245 other rain-related injuries this year. According to a report by Skymet Weather, India experienced deficient rainfall for the consecutive months of July and August. The report further informed that rainfall deficiency to the tune of 29 per cent was observed in the week between July 26 and August 1 which pushed the countrywide cumulative rainfall deficiency for the season from 3 per cent to 7 per cent.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 14, 2018 09:11 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).