Heavy rains lash Kerala, disrupt life; IMD sounds red alert in 3 districts

Kozhikode/Kannur (Kerala) Jul 18 (PTI) 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.

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 where the IMD issued a red alert for the day.

The district administration in all three districts declared a holiday for educational institutions on Friday, July 19.

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.

Apart from the red alert in the three northernmost districts of Kerala, the IMD also issued an orange alert in seven other districts of the state for the day.

It issued a yellow alert in the remaining four districts for the day.

A red alert indicates heavy to extremely heavy rain of over 20 cm in 24 hours, while an orange alert means very heavy rain (6 cm to 20 cm). A yellow alert means heavy rainfall between 6 and 11 cm.

The IMD further said that moderate rainfall and gusty winds of speeds reaching upto 50 kms per hour were likely at one or two places in Ernakulam, Thrissur, Palakkad, Malappuram, Kozhikode, Wayanad, Kannur, and Kasaragod districts.

Heavy rains in the state in the past few days have caused landslides, property damage, waterlogging of roads and flooding of acres of farmland.

Meanwhile, the Indian National Center for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) warned that there was a possibility of 2.5 to 3.4 meters high waves and storm surges along the Kerala coast, especially in Kannur and Kasaragod.

It advised fishermen and coastal residents in these areas to exercise special caution, keep fishing vessels safely moored in the harbour and avoid trips to the beach completely.