Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has warned the public to exercise extreme caution given the heavy rains in Kerala.
Mr. Viayan, who is scheduled to chair a top-level meeting of district collectors, emergency services and disaster management experts at 3.30 p.m., said in an Facebook post that the scope for mud slips was high.
An official said the meeting might also review the preparations for the Sabarimala pilgrimage, which commences on November 15.
If the weather intensified, the government would further limit the number of pilgrims to the forest shrine.
If requested by authorities, Mr. Vijayan asked people in flood and mudslide prone localities to shift to relief camps or safer terrain.
He said IMD had sounded a red alert in Ernakulam, Thrissur and Idukki districts. It has declared an orange alert in Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Pathanamthitta, Alappuzha, Kottayam, Kozhikode, Kannur and Kasargode districts.
On Monday, IMD has warned of intense rains (orange alert) in Ernakulam, Idukki, Thrissur, Kozhikode, Kannur, and Kasargode.
Mr. Vijayan said the government had opened the shutters of the Idukki dam to ensure the reservoir level remained within the safety threshold.
The CM warned people living downstream to be alert and not to venture into rivers or water bodies.
The public should follow instructions given by government authorities and be prepared to shift to safer ground, if necessary. The IMD has also sounded a lightning alert for hilly areas.
The State police are on full alert. Police stations in hilly districts have commandeered earthmovers and other equipment to clear mud slips if any.
They have cautioned fishers from putting out to sea. Coastal police stations are enforcing the temporary ban.
KSEB has deployed additional squads to restore power caused by toppled power lines and uprooted trees.
NDRF teams are on standby in red and orange status districts.
The government has warned people to avoid in-essential travel and give hilly tracts and forested localities a wide berth.
