Kerala rains: Schools, colleges in Wayanad and THESE six districts closed today; IMD issues orange alert

Kerala rains: Due to the prediction of very heavy rains, schools, colleges, and tuition centres will remain shut today i.e. August 2 in seven Kerala districts of Wayanad, Thrissur, Malappuram, Kozhikode, Kannur, Kasragod, Palakkad, as reported by Onmanorama.

IMD Kerala issued an orange alert in the Wayanad district until Saturday, which has already been affected by landslides claiming over 200 lives. IMD Kerala director, Neetha K Gopal said, “We have issued an orange alert in 4 northern districts of Kerala, including Wayanad. In the south, up to Pathanamthitta, we have also issued a yellow alert. From tomorrow on, there will be a be a considerable reduction in rainfall activity. So the yellow alerts are being confirmed only for the northern districts of Kerala. And then from Sunday there will be a reduction and we will be experiencing only light to moderate rain thereafter for another four days.”

Wayanad landslides update

Over 290 people have died and 200 are still missing when landslides triggered by torrential rains hit Mundakkai, Chooralmala, Attamala, and Noolpuzha hamlets, slipping about 80,000 square metres of land. Two massive landslides struck Mundakkai and Churalmala in Wayanad in the early hours of July 30, causing extensive destruction, loss of lives, and injury to hundreds, as per the Kerala Revenue Department.

Earlier on Thursday, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi visited Wayanad along with his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and AICC general secretary KC Venugopal. "It is a terrible tragedy for Wayanad, for Kerala and the nation. We have come here to see the situation. It is painful to see how many people have lost family members and their houses. We will try to help and make sure that the survivors get what is their due. A lot of them want to be relocated. There is a lot that needs to be done here. I would like to thank all those including doctors, nurses, administration and volunteers….I feel how I felt when my father died," Gandhi said after interacting with grieving families.

(With inputs from agencies)