Heavy rainfall predicted in Kerala; IMD issues red alert in Kannur, Kasargod districts today; govt shuts schools, colleges as precaution

The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a red alert in Kannur and Kasargod districts for Tuesday. Meanwhile, an orange alert has been issued in Thrissur, Palakkad, Malappuram, Kozhikode and Wayanad districts for 23 July. Moreover, the districts of Kozhikode, Kannur, and Kasaragod have been issued an orange alert for 24 July.

A red alert is the strongest warning issued to district officials directing them to take action, while an orange alert asks district officials to be prepared for a severe situation.

According to CNN-News18, all educational institutions including schools and professional colleges have been closed in Kannur, Kasargod and Malappuram districts on Tuesday in view of the IMD warning. There is also a yellow alert issued for Palakkad, Ernakulam and Idukki districts, the report said.

Representational image. PTI

Kerala has been witnessing intense monsoon showers over the last few days and a total of 21 rain-related casualties have been reported since the southwest monsoon hit the state on 8 July, The News Minute reported.

The maximum number of deaths have been recorded in the northern district of Kasaragod where five people have lost their lives. While four of them passed away due to drowning, one death occurred due to electrocution. Two casualties each has been reported from Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Alapuzha, Idukki, and Kozhikode districts as well.

So far, a total of 27 relief camps have been set up in the state to shift those affected by the rains. Around 350 people in flood-prone areas have already been moved to the various relief camps, as per a PTI report. Apart from that, 11 houses have been fully damaged and 102 have been partially hit across the state, the report said.

The Met department, meanwhile, has said that strong winds from the Westerly direction with speeds reaching 40-50 kmph were likely along and off the Kerala coast on Tuesday and since the sea condition would be rough to very rough, fishermen have been advised not to venture into the sea.

The IMD on Tuesday also predicted heavy downpour for the states of Karnataka, Assam, Meghalaya, the Konkan region, Goa, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, and Karaikal town. The weather agency also predicted "heavy to very heavy rainfall at isolated places over Bihar, East Rajasthan, East Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Maharashtra, Coastal Andhra Pradesh and Yanam, Rayalaseema, North Interior Karnataka, and Lakshadweep."

"Thunderstorm accompanied with lightning is very likely at isolated places over north Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Jharkhand, and Sub-Himalayan West Bengal and Sikkim," IMD stated in its all-India weather bulletin. Strong winds, with speed reaching 40-50 kmph, are likely to prevail over south Bay of Bengal and southwest and the central Arabian Sea.

With inputs from agencies