Heavy rains continue in Kerala, 6 districts put under Orange Alert

Kannur (Kerala) [India], July 6 : As heavy rain continued in many parts of Kerala on Wednesday, the administration in eleven districts of the state declared a holiday for educational institutions for today.

Six districts of the state are on Orange Alert.

Due to cyclonic circulation over the Bay of Bengal, Kerala has been witnessing heavy rain for the third consecutive day. The rain has caused waterlogging, coastal erosion and overflowing of rivers in many parts of the state.

Kakkad River in the Kannur district of the state overflowed and entered residential areas. Authorities have put up makeshift barricades to discourage people from using flooded routes.

The districts that are under Orange Alert are Idukki, Malappuram, Kozhikode, Wayanad, Kannur and Kasaragod.

A Red Alert indicates heavy to extremely heavy rains of over 20 cm in 24 hours, while an Orange Alert means very heavy rains from 6 cm to 20 cm of rain. A Yellow Alert means heavy rainfall between 6 to 11 cm.

All educational institutions are to remain closed in Alappuzha, Kannur, Kozhikode, Kottayam, Kasaragod, Palakkad, Idukki, Thrissur, Ernakulam, Pathanamthitta and Kollam on Thursday.

The western parts of the Kottayam district have witnessed flooding.

Emergency Operation Centres have been established to review the situation in all taluks of the state. Revenue Minister K Rajan on Wednesday chaired a high-level meeting of district collectors and other revenue officials. In a Facebook post, the minister urged the people to exercise caution while assuring that there is no need for panic.

The coastal belt of the state bore the brunt of rough seas causing the 1,154 people to be shifted to as many as 64 relief camps across the State.

Considering the severity of the rains, district-level and taluk-level emergency operation centres have been instructed to work around the clock.

"The State Emergency Operation Centre has been operationalized with representatives from various departments and the National Disaster Response Force," informed CM Pinarayi Vijayan in a Facebook post on Tuesday.

Seven teams of the National Disaster Response Force have been deployed in Idukki, Pathanamthitta, Malappuram, Wayanad, Kozhikode, Alappuzha and Thrissur districts for emergency use, the post added further.

Further, the post mentioned several guidelines to be followed. "Under no circumstances one should cross, bathe, engage in fishing or enter a river. Avoid night travel to hilly areas as much as possible. Due to the possibility of high waves and storm surges, people living in the coastal areas should stay away from the danger zones as per the instructions of the authorities. Be especially careful with wind hazards" it said.

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