INCOIS calls for suspension of beach tourism activities in South Kerala, South TN and Lakshadweep Islands till Wednesday 11.30 pm

INCOIS warns of high-energy swell waves hitting South Kerala, South Tamil Nadu, and Lakshadweep Islands, urging caution and suspension of activities.

INCOIS – Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Systems here in Hyderabad has called for total suspension of operational/recreational or all tourism activities at beach/nearshore regions of South Kerala, South Tamil Nadu and Lakshadweep Islands from 2.30 p.m. today (October 15, 2024) till 11.30 p.m. of Wednesday (October 16, 2024) due to ‘Swell Surge’ (Kallakadal) on Tuesday.

Fishermen and coastal population have been cautioned to be alert on surging of waves (gushing of sea water) intermittently in the nearshore/beach region, particularly in the low-lying areas. Small vessels cautioned against plying nearshore while boats were asked to be anchored at a fair distance from each other, to avoid collision and damage.

High-energy swell waves are approaching the Indian coast from the distant southern Indian Ocean. The event had started at approximately 10,000 km away from Indian coast on October 11, 2024 in the southern Indian Ocean and slowly moving towards northern Indian Ocean, informed scientist & Group Director – Ocean Modelling, Applied Research & Services (OMRS) T.M. Balakrishnan Nair.

This has caused the high-energy swell propagation towards the Indian coastal regions which is expected to hit southern tip of India today afternoon from 2.30 p.m. onwards with the maximum impact around evening hours around 5.30 p.m. These long period swells combined with high tide conditions can cause coastal flooding in the low-lying areas of south Kerala: particularly districts of Thiruvananthapuramm (between Pozhiyoor to Anchuthengu) and Kollam (between Iravipuram to Alappad) and South Tamil Nadu: particularly districts of Kanyakumari (Kolachel, Kurumpaynai), Thoothukudi (Between Periyathalai to Vembar) and Tirunelveli (between Kuttapulli to Kooduthalai)) and Lakshadweep islands till October 16, 11.30 p.m. High wave alert has also been issued for Andaman’s & Nicobar Islands.

“The remaining coastal regions too are under swell surge alert and are particularly vulnerable. We are presently monitoring the situation, and updates will appear on the INCOIS website – www.incois.gov.in/, “ he added.

INCOIS provides forecasts on the state of the ocean for the seas based on multi-model operational forecasting system built upon numerical ocean models assimilated with real time data from buoys deployed in the coastal waters, in the open ocean and even deep south in the southern Indian Ocean.