Continuing heavy rains in Kerala’s high ranges from the northeast monsoon led to widespread flooding in low-lying areas across the state on Tuesday.
Most districts experienced cloudy skies and sporadic rainfall all day. Thiruvananthapuram, Kannur, Kozhikode, and Idukki saw heavy downpours.
The Indian Meteorological Department issued an ‘orange alert’ for very heavy rainfall in Idukki, Ernakulam, Thrissur, Palakkad, and Malappuram for the day.
Educational institutions in Idukki, Palakkad, and Malappuram were closed on Wednesday due to a ‘red alert’ predicting “extremely heavy rainfall” in those areas.
The closure applies to madrassas, anganwadis, and tuition centres in Malappuram. In Palakkad, residential schools, colleges, and Navodaya institutions are excluded, officials mentioned.
Given the ‘red alert’, all water-related recreational activities in Idukki, such as boating, kayaking, and rafting, and tourism ventures in disaster-prone zones were halted. Trekking and other adventure activities in landslide-prone hilly regions must also cease until the alert is lifted, authorities emphasized.
District collector Dinesan Cheruvat also prohibited all quarrying and soil excavation activities, except those related to disaster management efforts, a statement confirmed.
A ‘red alert’ signifies “heavy to extremely heavy rain” exceeding 20 cm in 24 hours, while an ‘orange alert’ indicates “very heavy rain” ranging from 11 cm to 20 cm.