Rain havoc from north to south: Monsoon batters Kerala, flight ops hit in Delhi

Several parts of India, especially in the south, west, and north, are reeling under heavy rain brought by monsoon and thunderstorms.

Flight ops disrupted in Delhi

In Delhi, flight operations were disrupted at the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) early Sunday (May 25) due to heavy rain and winds.

“While the weather is gradually easing, some airside congestion remains. We assure you that flight movements are steadily resuming as conditions permit,” IndiGo said in a post on X at 3.59 am Sunday.

In another post at 5.54 am, it said, with clearer skies over Delhi, flight operations are back to normal.

According to information available on flight tracking website Flightradar24.com, many flights have been delayed and some cancelled at the airport, and the average delay was over 30 minutes for departures.

Heavy damage in Kerala

In Kerala, heavy rain and strong winds caused widespread damage to homes and crops, power outages, and waterlogging on Saturday (May 24) as monsoon arrived early.

Uprooted trees and broken branches damaged homes and vehicles in various parts of the state, and dislodged electricity poles caused power disruptions in several areas.

Roads were waterlogged in many rural and urban areas of the state as heavy rains continued to lash the state throughout the day.

Also read: Monsoon arrives in Kerala, earliest onset over Indian mainland since 2009: IMD

Flash floods and landslides fear in Kerala

State Revenue Minister K Rajan said some places might receive huge rains within a short period of time without any warning, leading to flash floods and landslides.

The minister said preparations were in place to set up over 3,000 camps to accommodate over five lakh people if required.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) announced the early onset of monsoons in the state. It said the state was witnessing the early arrival of monsoon after a gap of 16 years.

According to the IMD, the monsoon arrived eight days earlier than usual and the last time this happened was on May 23, 2009.

Before that, early onset of monsoon was seen on May 19, 1990, after 1975, it said.

Red and orange alerts in Kerala

The IMD further said that with the arrival of the monsoon, heavy rains are expected to continue across Kerala and it sounded red and orange alerts in several districts of the state for the next few days.

It issued a red alert in Kannur and Kasaragod districts and an orange alert in the remaining 12 districts of the state for the day.

Besides that, it issued a red alert in five districts and an orange alert in 9 districts for Sunday.

For Monday, it sounded a red alert in 11 districts of Kerala and an orange alert in the remaining three.

Also read: Weather update: Heavy rain alert for Karnataka, Kerala, Goa and Mumbai

CM’s message

In view of the monsoon arrival and the red alerts issued by the IMD, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said the government will be on alert for the next one week in the prevailing situation.

“A state-level review meeting has been convened and instructions have been given to complete the rain-related preparations immediately,” he said in a Facebook post.

He also said that pre-monsoon review meetings and preparatory activities have been completed in all districts.

The CM further said that a letter has been sent to the Centre requesting deployment of nine teams of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) in the state.

“Instructions have also been given to shift people, living in areas prone to landslides, to safe places as a precaution. Control rooms have been set up in all taluk offices in the state,” he said.

NDRF team in Malappuram

Vijayan also said that the District Disaster Management Authority's Emergency Operations Centres, which are functioning 24 hours a day, can be reached at the toll-free number 1077 and the State Emergency Operations Centre can be contacted on 1070.

One NDRF team of 26 members left for Malappuram and it will be camping at Nilambur, authorities said.

Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra spoke to Collectors of Wayanad, Malappuram and Kozhikode to assess the disaster preparedness in their respective districts in view of the heavy rain warning, a party statement said.

Quarrying closed

In Wayanad, the District Collector ordered closure of all adventure tourism centres close to the red zone and other disaster-prone areas due to the heavy rains and red alert in the district for Sunday.

All quarrying activities have also been suspended in Wayanad, the district administration said.

In Pathanamthitta, too, quarrying and night travel to the hill stations has been banned by the district administration from May 24 to May 28.

The district administration also ordered evacuation of people living close to disaster-prone areas.

Instructions to Collectors

Rajan, while speaking to a TV channel, said that the rains would be more in districts north of Kozhikode, Idukki and Pathanamthitta.

He said that instructions have been issued to all District Collectors with regard to monsoon preparedness and that he will hold an online meeting with them during the day to assess the situation in each of their districts.

The minister also advised against spreading of unverified and unofficial information about the rains on social media.

A red alert indicates heavy to extremely heavy rain of over 20 cm in 24 hours, while an orange alert means very heavy rain of 11 cm to 20 cm, and a yellow alert means heavy rainfall between 6 cm and 11 cm.

Also read: Heavy rains disrupt life in Kerala; orange alert issued in six districts

Monsoon in Maharashtra within three days

Monsoon is likely to advance to Maharashtra soon as well, as the climatic conditions are favourable for the next two to three days, the IMD said on Saturday.

Shubhangi Bhute, head of the Regional Meteorological Centre in Mumbai, said, “The conditions are favourable for the advancement of the southwest monsoon, which has already reached the Kerala coast almost a week ahead of its normal onset date of June 1.”

The forecast is based on current observations, particularly the formation of a low-pressure area near the Konkan region of Ratnagiri district, she said.

Red alert for coastal Maharashtra, Karnataka, TN

The IMD has issued a red alert for the coastal districts of Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg, signalling the likelihood of “very, very, extremely heavy rainfall”.

Isolated places in the Ghat regions of Satara and Kolhapur are also expected to receive extremely heavy downpours.

An orange alert has been issued for Raigad district. While no severe rainfall warning has been declared for Mumbai city, the department is closely monitoring developments and will provide updates as necessary, she said.

There are multi-hazard warnings for heavy to extremely heavy rain and thunderstorms for Tamil Nadu and Karnataka as well for Sunday (May 25).

Vehicles wrecked in Kullu flash floods

Meanwhile, in the north, flash floods triggered by heavy rains damaged around 20 to 25 vehicles parked on the roadside in Himachal Pradesh’s Kullu district on Saturday evening.

Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) Nirmand Manmohan Singh said no casualties have been reported in the incident.

He said heavy rains triggered flash floods in the dry Sharshaya Nallah, damaging around 20-25 vehicles near Jagat Khana in Nirmand.

Storms looming on Himachal

Hindustan-Tibet Road, National Highway-5, was blocked at Jhakri between Rampur and Kinnaur due to debris falling from the hills.

Videos of vehicles being swept away by the floods and debris are circulating on social media. The level of the Satluj River has also risen. While locals claimed the incident was caused by a cloudburst, the administration attributed it to heavy rains.

The local meteorological centre issued a yellow warning for thunderstorms accompanied with lightning and gusty winds at speeds of 40 to 50 kilometre per hour (kmph) in all 12 districts on May 27 and 28.

The warning has been issued for Sirmaur, Solan, Shimla, Mandi, Kullu, Kangra, and Chamba districts on May 25 and 26, the centre said.

Wet spell ahead

A wet spell has been forecast for the next six days, though the weather remained mostly dry on Saturday.

The Met office also predicted light rainfall at a few places in higher hills and light to moderate rain at many places in mid-hills and plains on May 27 and 28. L Light rain at isolated places in higher hills and at a few places in mid-hills and plains is expected on May 25, it added.

Rohru received 10 mm rainfall, followed by 2.6 mm in Jubbarhatti, 2.4 mm in Jubbal, and 2 mm in Chamba . Gusty winds with speeds between 37 and 56 kmph were recorded in Reckongpeo, Tabo, Kotkhai, Bahaura, Seobag, and Narkanda, the office said.

There was no significant change in minimum and maximum temperatures, with Una recording the highest temperature in the state at 39.2 degrees Celsius and Keylong the lowest at 7.3 degrees Celsius.

(With agency inputs)