Kerala government has declared a holiday in five districts for Friday as the state remains on high alert with heavy rains expected when cyclone Burevi makes landfall.
A statement issued by the state government said a public holiday has been declared for the districts of Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Pathanamthitta, Alappuzha and Idukki in the state.
Burevi is expected to enter Indian territory at Tuticorin coast either on Thursday night or Friday morning. By today afternoon, it is expected to touch base in Kerala. It is expected to arrive in the Kollam and Thiruvananthapuram border and from there, it will go into the Arabian Sea. Once in land, the expected maximum wind speed is expected to be 60 kms in an hour
As per IMD's prediction, Burevi, which crossed the Sri Lanka coast on Wednesday night, would hit the Tamil Nadu coast as a cyclonic storm. As per latest update, the cyclone cross the south Tamil Nadu coast between Pamban and Kanniyakumari, during late Thursday night/early Friday morning, with wind speed of 70-80 gusting to 90 kmph.
As many as 2,000 relief camps have been opened in Kerala and public holiday has been announced for all government offices including public sector undertakings for the five districts in the state.
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However, the disaster management authority and concerned services, emergency services and election-related services will function normally. The international airport here will remain shut from 10 AM to 6 PM on December 4.
The IMD has predicted that the course of the storm will be through the border areas of Thiruvananthapuram and Kollam districts and the government, along with various departments and the Army, were ready to face the contingencies, the statement said.
Districts in Kerala such as Pathanamthitta, Idukki and Alappuzha can expect very heavy rainfall.
"All have to be very cautious and have to be on alert till it leaves our state. All the basic arrangements have been done and officials are also ready. Mobile operators have been asked to ensure that they provide generators at all tower sites. Air Force and Navy are also all ready, in case a need arises," Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan said.
Vijayan said in the morning Union Home Minister Amit Shah had called him to assure of all help and asked that there should be no hesitation to call for any need.
He said that eight teams of the National Disaster Rescue Force have already arrived and two teams are posted in Idukki district, while the other teams are in other districts, where Burevi could have an impact.
Police, fire and rescue forces along with the NDRF teams have been deployed in the event of any emergency situation.