According to the IMD, the monsoon arrived eight days earlier than usual in Kerala this year and the last time this happened was on May 23, 2009.
With the early onset of monsoon in Kerala, heavy rains and strong winds have been reported from the southern state. The India Meteorological Department has issued an orange alert for Raigad, Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg districts of Konkan along with Satara and Pune districts and their ghat areas including Kolhapur district in Maharashtra.
Meanwhile, moderate to heavy rains lashed many places in Haryana and Punjab on Sunday.
The IMD on Saturday announced the early onset of monsoons in Kerala and said that the state is witnessing the early arrival of monsoon after a gap of 16 years.
According to the IMD, the monsoon arrived eight days earlier than usual, and the last time this happened was on May 23, 2009.
Prior to that, an early onset of the monsoon was seen on May 19, 1990, after 1975, it said.
A Huge number of trees got uprooted, houses were damaged, rivers are in spate, and shutters of some dams were raised in Kerala on Sunday with heavy rains overnight and strong winds continuing to lash across the state.
Almost all districts of the state received widespread rains throughout the night and in the morning, causing intense waterlogging in low-lying areas and traffic snarls.
In landslide-battered Chooralmala in Wayanad, incessant heavy rains caused concerns among local people the previous night.
Water flow in the Punnapuzha River, crisscrossing through the Chooralmala-Mundakkai region, heavily increased due to continuing downpour, they said.
Five shutters of the Malankara dam in Idukki district were raised on Sunday morning to release the excess water, according to an official statement.
Those who live on the banks of the Thodupuzha and Moovattupuzha rivers should exercise caution in view of the raising of dam shutters, it said.
Uprooting of trees was reported in northern Kozhikode and Kasaragod districts, where strong winds caused damage in many places.
Tragedy was averted in the heart of Kollam city as a huge flex board, erected on the side of a road, fell, local people said.
A house and vehicles were damaged as uprooted trees fell upon them in Kunnathunad and Munambam Harbour, respectively, in Ernakulam district.
Meanwhile, the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) on Sunday predicted thunderstorms with moderate rainfall (5-15mm/ hour) with surface wind speed likely to be 50 Kmph (in Gusts) at a few places in Ernakulam, Thrissur, Malappuram and Kozhikkode.
Moderate rainfall (5-15mm/ hour) with surface wind speed likely to be 40 Kmph (in Gusts) at a few places in Alappuzha, Pathanamthitta, Kottayam, Palakkad, Kozhikode, Wayanad, Kannur and Kasaragode, it said.
The Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) warned of high tidal waves from 3.1 metres to 4.2 metres and rough seas in the coastal area of the state till Monday night.
The weather department on Sunday issued an alert for parts of Konkan and western Maharashtra for the next few days, warning of `extremely heavy to very heavy' rainfall.
While the monsoon has arrived in southern Maharashtra, Mumbai and Konkan are receiving pre-monsoon showers.
In its forecast released in the afternoon, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued an orange alert (which denotes `be prepared for relief action') for Raigad, Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg districts of Konkan along with Satara and Pune districts and their ghat (hilly) areas including Kolhapur district.
The orange alert for Raigad is valid for only May 25 and 26, but for Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg districts and Ghat areas of Satara, Kolhapur and Pune, the alert will be valid for five days.
"Heavy to very heavy rainfall and thunderstorms with lightning and gusty winds up to 50-60 kmph at isolated places" were very likely, the IMD said.
It also sounded `yellow alert' which indicates a "warning" and "take action" advice for Mumbai, Thane, Palghar and several other districts of Maharashtra. Heavy to very heavy rainfall and thunderstorms accompanied by lightning and gusty winds up to 50-60 kmph are predicted in these districts.
A Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation official said Mumbai's island city, eastern suburbs and western suburbs recorded average 37 mm, 15 mm and 18 mm rainfall in the 24 hours ended at 8 am.
Moderate to heavy rains lashed many places in Haryana and Punjab on Sunday.
The Met department said Haryana received heavy showers in 24 hours till 8.30 am on Sunday.
Karnal received 118 mm rainfall, Ambala 43 mm, Hisar 73.9 mm, Sirsa 39 mm, Gurugram 39.5 mm, Jhajjar 40.5 mm, Kaithal 78 mm and Kurukshetra 65 mm.
In Punjab, Amritsar received 13.2 mm rainfall during the period, Ludhiana 3.2 mm, Patiala 8.9 mm, Pathankot 27 mm, Bathinda 16 mm, Faridkot 16 mm, Gurdaspur 36.8 mm, Ferozepur 3 mm and Mohali 0.5 mm.
Chandigarh, the common capital of the two states, received light shower.
The rains brought relief from sultry weather conditions as mercury dropped by a few notches.