Holidays in parts of the Kerala as rains continue to lash

Thiruvananthapuram, Aug 01: As heavy rains continued to lash Kerala, Monday was declared a holiday for educational institutions in some parts of the state. District Collectors of Pathanamthitta and Kollam declared August 1 as a holiday for educational institutions in certain taluks in their respective districts, news agency PTI reported.

In Ernakulam, in view of an Orange alert issued for the district till August 4, all departments have been directed to be prepared and fishermen have been instructed not to go to sea, the control room of the district said. Water levels of rivers flowing through the district are being monitored in view of the heavy rain warnings and a meeting of the District Disaster Management Authority is also scheduled to be held during the day, the control room said.

The central Meteorological Department had on Sunday predicted heavy rains in Kerala till August 4 with orange alerts being issued in various districts in the week ahead. In view of the Orange alerts issued by the India Meteorological Department (IMD) for the coming week, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Sunday said those in hilly areas should be cautious and as a precautionary measure, they should be shifted to relief camps as soon as rains start. Orange alert has been issued in Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Pathanamthitta, Alappuzha, Kottayam, Ernakulam and Idukki districts of the state for August 1.

Orange alert has been issued in eight districts for August 2, 12 for August 3 and 12 on August 4, according to an IMD district rainfall forecast issued for Kerala at 1 PM on Sunday.

A red alert indicates heavy to extremely heavy rains of over 20 cm in 24 hours, while orange alert means very heavy rains from 6 cm to 20 cm. A yellow alert means heavy rainfall between 6 to 11 cm.