Kerala Rains: Red Alert Issued For 2 Districts; Schools, Colleges Shut in Ernakulam, Alappuzha

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted heavy rainfall in parts of Kerala on Tuesday.

The weather-monitoring agency has issued red alerts for two districts, orange alerts for 11 districts and a yellow alert for two other districts.

Kannur and Idukki districts in Kerala are currently under a red alert, while Pathanamthitta, Alappuzha, Kottayam, Idukki, Thrissur, Palakkad, Malappuram, Kozhikode, Wayanad, Kannur, and Kasaragod districts are under an orange alert. Thiruvananthapuram and Kollam districts have been issued a yellow alert.

District-level and taluk-level emergency operation centres have been instructed to operate 24 hours a day considering the intensity of the rain, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said.

7 teams of the National Disaster Response Force have been set up for emergency use in Idukki, Pathanamthitta, Malappuram, Wayanad, Kozhikode, Alappuzha and Thrissur districts, he stated.

"Avoid night travel to the mountainous areas as much as possible. Residents living in the coastal area should move away from danger zones as per the instructions of authorities as there is a possibility of high tides and sea strikes. Trips to the beach and recreational activities at sea should be avoided completely. Kerala should not go fishing in the Lakshadweep coasts of Karnataka," the Chief Minister appealed to the people.

Kerala, as per the IMD, is expected to get heavy rains till Friday.

Due to heavy rains, the concerned authorities have announced a holiday for all educational institutions, including professional colleges, in the Ernakulam and Alappuzha districts on Tuesday.

On Monday, an 11-year-old girl died after a tree fell on her near her school in Kasaragod. The victim has been identified as Ayshath Minha, a class VI student of Government Higher Secondary School at Angadimogar in Puthige grama panchayat, according to a report in Manorama.