Thiruvananthapuram: The India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Sunday issued red alert for four districts in Kerala - Pathanamthitta, Kottayam, Idukki, and Alappuzha - forecasting extremely heavy rainfall until May 21.

As heavy rains pose potential hazards, the Kerala State Disaster Management Authority (KSDMA) has advised people to remain vigilant.

With expectations of heavy rainfall within a short timeframe, there's a risk of flash floods and urban waterlogging, particularly in low-lying areas. Landslides may also be triggered by prolonged rainfall. In light of this, authorities are urging residents, especially those in hilly and coastal regions, to exercise caution and stay alert.

The IMD has also sounded orange alert for Thiruvananthapuram and Kollam district until Tuesday.

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

Earlier in the day, the Idukki District Collector ordered a ban on night travel through the hilly areas of the district from Sunday until the red and orange alerts are withdrawn.

''Strict instructions have been issued to the District Superintendent of Police, Sub Divisional Magistrates, Regional Transport Officers, and Tehsildars to implement the ban effectively,'' an official statement said.

Mining activities have been banned in Ernakulam and Kottayam districts in view of the forecast for heavy rain.

The southern district of Thiruvananthapuram experienced heavy rains on Saturday night, leading to waterlogging in the city and its suburbs, affecting normal life.

Visuals aired by news channels showed that houses and shops were flooded in some parts. Due to the non-completion of the Smart City Road, waterlogging has worsened in many places. In some areas, canals crisscrossing the capital city and its suburbs overflowed.

The affected people alleged that the lack of pre-monsoon cleaning of canals and drainage systems was the reason for the waterlogging in the capital city and its suburbs.

 

 

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Mumbai, Apr 8 (PTI): Stock markets rebounded sharply on Tuesday, a day after facing the worst drubbing in 10 months, as benchmark Sensex recouped 1,089 points after across-the-board buying amid a rally in Asian and European markets.

Snapping its three-day decline, the 30-share BSE Sensex jumped 1,089.18 points or 1.49 per cent to settle at 74,227.08 with 29 of its components ending in the green. During the day, it climbed 1,721.49 points or 2.35 per cent to 74,859.39.

The NSE Nifty surged 374.25 points or 1.69 per cent to 22,535.85, snapping the three-day losing run. Intra-day, the benchmark soared 535.6 points or 2.41 per cent to 22,697.20.

Sensex tanked 2,226.79 points or 2.95 per cent and Nifty tumbled 742.85 points or 3.24 per cent, marking their worst single day decline in 10 months as global equity markets went into a tailspin on recession fears after US tariff war.

"Positive global market cues aided massive recovery in local benchmarks, as concerns over US trade tariffs faded a bit on hopes that most of the nations would work out ways to overcome the challenge. With India largely being a consumption-led economy, the US tariff impact may not hurt the country in a major way when compared to some of the other nations," Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research), Mehta Equities Ltd, said.

All Sensex firms, except Power Grid, ended in the positive territory. Titan, Bajaj Finance, State Bank of India, Larsen & Toubro, Axis Bank, Bajaj Finserv, Asian Paints and Zomato were the biggest gainers.

World markets also staged a comeback after Monday's collapse.

In Asian markets, Tokyo's Nikkei 225 index, Hong Kong's Hang Seng, Shanghai SSE Composite index and South Korea's Kospi settled in the positive territory after falling sharply on Monday. Nikkei 225 index jumped 6 per cent.

European markets were quoting higher. US markets ended mostly lower on Monday.

The BSE smallcap gauge jumped 2.18 per cent and midcap index surged 1.87 per cent.

All BSE sectoral indices ended higher.

Oil & Gas index jumped the most by 2.58 per cent, followed by consumer durables (2.38 per cent), telecommunication (2.32 per cent), industrials (2.04 per cent), energy (2.03 per cent), consumer discretionary (2.02 per cent), teck (1.97 per cent), healthcare (1.94 per cent) and IT (1.77 per cent).

As many as 3,093 stocks advanced while 871 declined and 119 remained unchanged on the BSE.

"Following positive global cues, led by the interest of many nations to enter into bilateral agreements with the US, the domestic market witnessed a recovery," Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments Limited, said.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 9,040.01 crore on Monday, while Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) bought shares worth Rs 12,122.45 crore, according to exchange data.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.22 per cent to USD 64.35 a barrel.

Benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty logged their worst single-day decline in 10 months on Monday, as fears that Trump's policies on reciprocal tariffs may lead to recession and higher inflation in the US going ahead unnerved investors.