Heavy rain triggered by cyclonic circulations over the Bay of Bengal continued to pound northern Kerala, disrupting normal life in many parts of Malabar. As many as 66 members of 14 families at Chamunday tribal colony in Vengappally and 20 families of Kottathara village were shifted to two relief camps opened in Wayanad following heavy rain.
Five houses were partially damaged in various rain-related incidents till Monday in the hill district where entry for tourists is temporarily banned to the Thollayiaram Kandy area in the wake of heavy rain. In Kannur, a landslip was reported inside the forests adjoining the Ullikal panchayat, leading to a sudden rise in water level in the Manikadavu river, submerging low-lying areas and three bridges at Manikadavu, Vayathur and Vatiyamthod regions. At Manikadavu, overflowing waters entered two houses and three shops. In Kozhikode, rivers Iruvazhinji and Poonoor are in spate following copious rain.
The reinvigorated monsoon has also aggravated rough sea conditions along the coast. Several instances of trees falling on houses and a car, and wells collapsing have been reported from different parts of Kozhikode. However, no causality was reported in connection with the rain on Monday.
Meanwhile, the rain is likely to weaken in the coming four days, as per the weather update issued by the India Meteorological department (IMD) on Monday. According to the weather bulletin, a low-pressure area, however, is likely to form over the northwest Bay of Bengal off the north Andhra Pradesh-south Odisha coasts by Tuesday. The system is likely to concentrate into a depression over the same region around Wednesday and move west-northwestwards across the north Andhra Pradesh-south Odisha coast.
This is likely to trigger rain or thundershowers at many places across the State till July 30. A yellow alert has been issued for nine districts, except for Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Pathanamthitta, Alappuzha and Kottyam, on Tuesday warning of isolated heavy rain.
Holiday
A holiday has been declared for all educational institutions, including professional colleges and anganwadis, in Kozhikode, Kannur and Wayanad districts on Tuesday in the wake of the rain alert. Fishermen are also advised not to venture into the sea off the coast of Kerala as squally weather is likely to prevail along the coasts.
Meanwhile, Munnar in Idukki recorded the highest rainfall of 11 cm during the last 24 hours ending at 8.30 a.m. on Monday followed by Vythiri in Wayanad (10 cm), Ponnani and Thavanur in Malappuram, Palluruthy in Ernakulam and Peruvannamuzhi in Kozhikode (9 cm each) and Idukki and the Pothundy dam in Palakkad with 8 cm each.
