Heavy rain leaves Kerala battered

The south-west monsoon returned to Kerala after a prolonged lull, with reports of heavy rainfall in different parts of the state on Friday.

The Meteorological Centre in Thiruvananthapuram reported a “vigorous” comeback of monsoon as rain lashed parts of the northern, central and southern districts. The centre has predicted more rain in isolated places till Sunday.

The weather forecast could prove a dampener for some parts of the state that has already entered the busy Onam season. Kerala celebrates Thiruvonam on Monday.
On Friday, Aryankavu in Kollam district and Nilambur in Malappuram district recorded 10 cm rainfall each. Punalur (Kollam), Varkala (Thiruvananthapuram) and Mannarkad (Palakkad) also reported heavy rainfall.

The state has seen erratic weather for the past two years, with 25 per cent more rainfall than normal between June 1 and September 12 this year; and 24 per cent less than normal rainfall during the four monsoon months last year.

After widespread showers that left a trail of destruction in the initial months, including deaths in accidents and landslide disasters, the rain had steadily waned away over the past couple of weeks in all districts.

Ten out of the 14 districts have recorded excess rainfall all through the monsoon season this year. Idukki – where a landslip killed 13 people on August 5 – tops the list with 45 per cent excess rainfall.
One of the four shutters of Idamalayar dam was opened early on Friday after the storage at the reservoir touched full capacity.