Thiruvananthapuram: Relentless rains that were largely restricted to the southern parts of the state during the last four days have begun to spread to the northern areas from Sunday. However, according to disaster management experts, the current spell of unceasing rains will not be as catastrophic as in April 2014 when heavy rains left a swathe of destruction in the northern parts of the state.
“Unlike last year, there is no wind associated with the rains this time. Rains alone are not enough to cause widespread destruction. For it to become deadly, it should be powered by ripping winds,” said Dr Sekhar Kuriakose, the head (scientist) of State Emergency Operations Centre.
“Our assessment is that this time there will not be the kind of property damages, including that of agriculture, that would normally force us to rush to the Centre for disaster relief,” Dr Kuriakose added. The current spell is the consequence of a low pressure that has formed over the Southeast Arabian Sea off the Kerala coast. Meteorological Department predicts that the rains will continue for another three days before the upper air cyclonic formation gets blown northwards. “That the rains are getting more widespread is sign that it will soon blow over,” a Met Department official said. Even though the intensity was less in the northern parts, four days of consistent rains have led to excess rainfall in all the districts in the state. Following the heavy rains in the last four days, all the districts in the state had recorded excess rainfall, a rare occurrence during summer. “Pre-monsoon showers have been considerably more than expected,” Dr Kuriakose said. “We have also noticed that whenever there were heavy pre-monsoon showers, the southwest monsoon at least during its initial stages will be weakened,” he added.
