The India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Thursday issued an Orange alert in 12 districts of Kerala for the day as the state continued to receive heavy rainfall.
The IMD issued an Orange alert in all the districts of Kerala except for Thiruvananthapuram and Kollam for Thursday.
The Kerala State Disaster Management Authority said cyclonic circulation over northern Tamil Nadu and adjoining areas would lead to isolated very heavy rainfall in several parts of the southern state.
The Central Meteorological Department, on Wednesday, had predicted isolated heavy and very heavy rainfall in the state for the next 2 days and heavy rainfall for the two days after that.
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Kerala has been experiencing heavy rainfall for the past few days and it has disrupted normal life in certain places of the state.
Considering the heavy rains and to be better prepared for the early onset of monsoon in the state, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had a day ago issued a slew of directions to ensure that the authorities were prepared to handle problems like landslides and flooding.
Some of the instructions issued by the CM included local bodies to prepare a list of disaster-prone areas in their jurisdictions and provide the same to the authorities concerned like police and fire services, ensure relief camps with adequate facilities are in place for evacuating people and desilting of gutters and rivers.
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The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has already deployed five teams to Kerala. The State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA) has asked people to stay away from rivers and other water bodies until the rains subside. The SDMA has also asked people not to travel to hilly regions unless it's an emergency and to avoid night travel until the rain subsides.The district administrations have also warned the people against staying near coastal areas of high tide.
The IMD has earlier predicted that the Southwest monsoon, which is also known as Edavapathy in the state, is likely to bring its first showers to Kerala by May 27, five days earlier than the normal onset date.
Heavy rains in coastal districts of Karnataka, holiday declared for schools
A holiday was declared for schools in Dakshina Kannada district on Thursday for a second day in view of heavy rains, Deputy Commissioner K V Rajendra said.
Normal life was thrown out of gear in the district since Wednesday with the heavy downpour due to the low pressure in the Bay of Bengal.
To ensure safety of school children, a holiday was declared for on Thursday to all government, aided, unaided primary and high schools.
Rajendra said the decision was taken considering the difficulties of children in rural areas. The status quo can be maintained if children have reached schools in urban areas, he said.
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Meanwhile, Udupi Deputy Commissioner M Kurma Rao also instructed schools to take a decision on declaring a holiday as heavy rains were continuing in the twin coastal districts.
