Heavy rain lashed many parts of Kerala on Wednesday resulting in waterlogging, uprooting of trees, and damages to residential and commercial buildings. Three districts- Idukki, Kasaragod, and Kannur- are under red alert and India Meteorological Department(IMD) has issued an orange alert for the remaining 11 districts.

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 The IMD on Tuesday forecast moderate to extreme rainfall in the State for the next three to five days. In six districts- Kannur, Thrissur, Ernakulam, Idukki, Kottayam and Kasaragod- authorities have declared a holiday for educational institutions today as part of precautionary measures.

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Emergency Operation Centres have been established to review the situation in all taluks of the state. Revenue Minister K Rajan 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.

According to the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), there is a possibility of widespread rains in the State, heavy rains at isolated places and very heavy rains on some days in the upcoming five days.

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.