Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala will continue to receive heavy rainfall on Friday. The India Meteorological Department has sounded an orange alert in Kannur, Wayanad, Kozhikode and Kasaragod districts on Friday. A yellow alert was issued in Ernakulam, Idukki, Thrissur, Palakkad and Malappuram. While an orange alert means very heavy rain (6 cm to 20 cm), a yellow alert means heavy rainfall between 6 and 11 cm. As per the forecast, Kerala will continue to receive heavy rain accompanied by gusty winds under the influence of a low-pressure area over the Bay of Bengal.
As the IMD has predicted heavy rain across Kerala, all schools in Kannur, Wayanad, Kasaragod, Kozhikode and Palakkad will remain closed on Friday, July 19. In Kannur, Wayanad and Palakkad, holiday has been declared for all educational institutions including professional colleges. In Kozhikode and Kasaragod, colleges will be open for regular classes. In Kannur and Palakkad, public and university examinations will be held as scheduled.
In Idukki and Malappuram, the authorities announced a holiday for educational institutions in certain places due to bad weather. In Idukki, all educational institutions including professional colleges in Devikulam taluk and Chinnakkanal panchayat will remain shut on Friday. In Malappuram, educational institutions except professional colleges in Kondotty and Areekode sub districts will remain shut on Friday. Read more details.
Widespread damage due to rains
Heavy rains continued to lash several parts of Kerala, especially the hilly areas of its northern Malabar districts on Thursday, disrupting the normal life there. One person was killed in Kottayam after his boat overturned in Kottayam. Pathamtam Kollamkunnel Sadanadan (55) drowned after his boat overturned near Malikkadavu bridge. Incidents of flooding, uprooting of trees, property damage and minor landslides were reported from many parts of the northern Kerala districts of Wayanad, Kannur and Kasaragod.
In Palakkad, a school bus overturned into a canal, but no one was injured and the children were rescued. In Kozhikode, visuals showed school children travelling in a jeep to school with the vehicle partially submerged in the waterlogged road. In Kannur, the heavy rains necessitated the shifting of 80 people to camps and around 71 families were moved to homes of their relatives in Kannur, the district administration said. Additionally, 13 houses have been completely damaged and 242 homes partially damaged in the district due to the monsoon rains.
There were also reports from some parts of north Kerala, of walls collapsing due to the rains and causing damage to vehicles parked nearby. Reports of property damage due to the rains also came from Thrissur and Ernakulam districts. Besides these, a wild elephant died after being reportedly swept away while attempting to cross a river in Ernakulam district. Widespread heavy rains were also reported in the hilly areas of Wayanad district with over 29 houses partially damaged, over 1,000 people shifted to 22 camps and a rise in water levels of rivers flowing through the region.
