Heavy rain disrupts normal life in southern Kerala

Heavy rain lashed most parts of southern Kerala on Tuesday (November 18, 2025), disrupting normal life and causing traffic congestion, waterlogging, and inconvenience to commuters.

Kayamkulam in Alappuzha recorded a whopping 118.5 mm of rainfall during the day. The Kerala State Disaster Management Authority (KSDMA) sounded warning sirens in Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, and Alappuzha districts on Tuesday evening after the India Meteorological Department (IMD) upgraded the rain alert issued for these districts from yellow to orange, which indicates very heavy rain during the next 24 hours.

The disaster risk warning titled KaWaCHaM (Kerala Warnings, Crisis and Hazard Management system), developed by the KSDMA, issued early warning for people in the vulnerable regions. The heavy rain was triggered by the low-pressure area over the Bay of Bengal. According to a weather bulletin issued by the IMD on Tuesday, a low-pressure area lies over Comorin area and neighbourhood with the associated cyclonic circulation extending up to 5.6 km above mean sea level. Under the influence of the system, rain intensified in southern districts.

There will be a lull in rainfall activity in the next few days. However, the rain will gain strength by November 22 with another low-pressure area taking shape over the Bay of Bengal. The weather system to be developed over the Bay of Bengal by this weekend is likely to intensify and become more marked during the subsequent 48 hours, bringing more rain in parts of southern and central Kerala and hilly regions bordering the Western Ghats.

Women police personnel braving heavy rain while on duty at East Fort in Thiruvananthapuram on Tuesday.
| Photo Credit:
NIRMAL HARINDRAN

Meanwhile, the rain deficit in Kerala during the month of November has been bridged considerably by the late surge in the second half of the month, aided by the back-to-back systems in the Bay of Bengal. As of Tuesday (November 18), the northeast rain is 26% deficient in Kerala, with the State netting 311 mm of rainfall against the average of 423 mm of rainfall during this period. However, the anticipated surge during the fag end of November is expected to reduce the rainfall deficiency significantly.