Thiruvananthapuram : The Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services(INCOIS) has issued a red alert on a possible 'kallakkadal' (swell surge) phenomenon for the littoral areas of Kerala and southern Tamil Nadu. The centre has forecast high-energy swell waves on the Kerala coast from2:30 am to11:30 pm on May 4 and 5.
The Kerala State Disaster Management Authority(KSDMA) said that this was the first time that a red alert has been issued on swell surge in Kerala. KSDMA has issued directions to the district administration to issue warnings to people who sleep on the beach at night. Beach-side vendors have also been advised to store their wares on the roadside and not on the shore.
INCOIS has warned that erratic high waves ranging from 0.5 to1.5 metres, might hit the littoral areas. It had also prompted fishermen to secure their boats and refrain from setting out to sea. The unanticipated 'kallakkadal' is driven by robust winds from the southern Indian Ocean.
The UN's World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) has accepted' kallakkadal' as the global title for the miracle that involves the unforeseen and unannounced swell of swells that could inflict annihilation along the seacoast. As per the periodic report of the Ministry of Earth lores, the term' kallakadal' was first proposed by ESSO-NCESS and was accepted by UNESCO in 2012 for describing similar freak events of littoral flooding.
