Kerala CM calls for high-level meeting to tackle rain fury

Thiruvananthapuram: As Kerala remains under high alert expecting heavy rains and winds as result of cyclone Burevi, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Thursday called for a high-level meeting of the State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA) and other departments.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD), in its latest bulletin, has said Burevi may make its landfall in Kerala on December 4 and issued a red alert and cyclone warning for south Tamilnadu and south Kerala coasts.

The IMD has predicted that Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Pathanamthitta, Kottayam, Alappuzha, Idukki and Ernakulam districts would receive heavy rains and wind from December 3 to 5. The NDRF team, which had reached Kerala, has inspected the hilly regions and the coastal areas of Thiruvananthapuram.

The Fire and Rescue team has been engaged in cutting and removing trees and branches which pose danger to the public in case of heavy rains and wind. “We are fully equipped to deal with any kind of situation,” NDRF sub-inspector K K Ashokan told the media.

The administration of the state capital has opened 217 relief camps and 15,840 people have been shifted there from disaster-prone areas. A deep depression over southwest Bay of Bengal has intensified into a cyclonic storm ‘Burevi’ which is likely to hit south Kerala with the weatherman predicting heavy rains and wind in the seven southern districts of the state from December 3 to 5.

Eight teams of the NDRF have already reached the state and Pinarayi Vijayan had on Wednesday informed that facilities of the Air Force have been arranged at Sulur Air Force base in Coimbatore to meet any eventuality