Rains batter parts of Kerala

Thiruvananthapuram, Jul 13 (PTI): Rains continued to batter many parts of Kerala on Tuesday under the influence of Southwest monsoon with the weatherman issuing an Orange alert for the hilly Idukki district and Yellow alert for 11 other districts.
India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued Yellow alert for Kottayam, Pathanamthitta, Kollam, Ernakulam, Thrissur, Palakkad, Malappuram, Kozhikode, Wayanad, Kannur and Kasaragod districts for Tuesday.
“Strong winds with speed reaching 45-55 kmph is likely over Kerala coasts. Fishermen are advised not to venture into these sea areas during the period mentioned,” a weather warning issued for fishermen of Kerala coast for five days from Tuesday said. Meanwhile, several places in Kozhikode and Thrissur districts received heavy rainfall of over 9 cm each, while Ernakulam district received over 7 cm along with strong winds resulting in widespread damage to property. At least 270 houses were partiallydamaged and over 40 houses were fully destroyed in rural areas of Ernakulam district. Government sources said most of the houses were damaged after trees got uprooted in the strong wind and fell over them.
The Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) too suffered damage to its equipment at various places.
“Damage to crops worth Rs 50 lakh has been estimated,” the state government said in a release.
A Red alert indicates heavy to extremely heavy rains of over 20 cm in 24 hours, while Orange alert means very heavy rains from 6 cm to 20 cm of rains.
A yellow alert means heavy rainfall between 6 to 11 cm.