The Hindu Business Line : Torrential rain wallops Kerala

THE southwest monsoon seems to have chosen the withdrawal phase to unleash its fiercest spell yet in Kerala, with torrential rainfall during the 48 hours ending Monday evening bringing low-lying areas under a massive sheet of water.

The deep depression originating from the Bay of Bengal targeted Thrissur in the north for sustained strafing, producing a record 42 cm of rain during 24 hours ending 8.30 a.m. on Monday. In line with the usual monsoonal pattern, the rains were particularly concentrated in the northern districts while varying in intensity in the south.

The State has been witnessing heavy to very heavy rainfall from Saturday onwards but the spatial and temporal spread was not even to start with. The proceedings settled down to a largely symmetrical pattern soon enough, peaking to a crescendo from Sunday morning.

The position held through the evening hours on Monday, though reportedly losing some steam into the night.

Moderate to isolated heavy rains will continue over a period of 48 hours even after the Bay system has made a landfall, according to Mr M.D. Ramachandran, Director, Met Office, Thiruvananthapuram.

The chief amounts of rainfall during the 24 hours ending 8.30 a.m. on Monday (in cm) are: Kunnamkulam - 20; Enamackel - 19; Kodungallur - 17; Munnar - 16 and Kochi, Chalakkudy and Iringalakkuda - 15 cm each. The end-phase spectacle is expected to help make good the shortfall of 22 per cent in June-September precipitation recorded by the State.

Giving an update on the southwest monsoon performance this year, Mr Ramachandran said the season had set in on May 18, 13 days ahead of schedule. At the end of September, the State ended up with 22 per cent less than the long-term average normal of monsoon precipitation. The State is supposed to get 70 per cent of the annual rainfall during the period. The actual average rainfall received during the season was 173 cm.

Suffice to say that the State received `deficient' rainfall on an average during the season ending September 30, Mr Ramachandran said.

Kannur, Idukki, Kollam, Palakkad, Pathanamthitta and Thiruvananthapuram districts received `normal' rainfall, while the remaining eight districts received `deficient' rainfall.

Earlier in March and April, the State had received substantial pre-monsoon showers. March and April returned `normal' pre-monsoon or summer showers, while May saw the State receiving as much as 60.6 cm of rain against the normal 26.6 cm.

If one were to consider the aggregate rain falling from January 1 to end-September, the State has received `normal' rainfall on an average with 13 districts receiving `normal' rain. Wayanad was the sole exception, recording a `slightly deficient' precipitation.

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