Red alert for six rain-hit districts of Maha; extremely heavy showers expected

The India Meteorological Department IMD on Friday issued a red alert for six districts of Maharashtra which have been already pounded by heavy rains, forecasting extremely heavy rainfall and recommending preventive actions.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Friday issued a red alert for six districts of Maharashtra which have been already pounded by heavy rains, forecasting ''extremely heavy'' rainfall and recommending preventive actions. The alert was issued for the next 24 hours for the districts of Raigad, Ratnagiri, and Sindhudurg in coastal Konkan and also for Pune, Satara, and Kolhapur in Western Maharashtra. Extremely heavy rainfall is ''very likely'' at isolated places in ghat (hilly/upland) areas, an IMD official said. ''Very likely'' denotes 51 to 75 percent probability of occurrence, he added.

The forecast for Satara is ''most likely'' which means a probability of more than 75 percent, he said.

A rainfall above 204.4 mm in 24 hours is considered extremely heavy. The forecast also included a red alert for Ratnagiri and Satara for Saturday.

The intensity of showers will drastically come down from Sunday onward, the IMD said.