All schools will remain closed on Friday in Ernakulam district, owing to the heavy rains lashing the state currently. The District Collector made the announcement on Thursday. To compensate for the rain holidays, schools will work on Saturday, the Collector added.
All schools including schools under the CBSE and ICSE board and the Kerndriya Vidyala schools are to comply by the directive. However, the announcement will not apply to colleges and professional colleges in the state.
Heavy rains have been battering Kerala for over one and a half months and over 43 people have lost their lives due to the rains and flash floods in the state. The floods triggered a landslide in Kattipara in Thamarassery, Kozhikode. A red alert had been issued to six districts including Kozhikode, Malappuram, Wayanad, Kannur, Kasaragod and Palakkad.
Apart from the districts where the red alert has been issued, the state capital region too has sustained casualties from the heavy rains.
"In Thiruvananthapuram district, six deaths have been recorded over this month due to rains. Two deaths have been recorded in Neyattinkara and a 51-year-old lost her life in Balaramappuram. Two others have also passed away in Kattaikonam and Kozhani respectively," an official from the Disaster Control Room told TNM
In Kollam district, 40-year-old Sunil Kumar lost his life after he was struck by lightning during the rains.
In Alappuzha, three people lost their lives due rains. In Kottayam, another 50-year-old passed away due to the rains.
The government had even issued a warning to fishermen to not venture out into the seas as the rains are set to continue in the state. Further landslides are expected in the hilly terrains of the state due to the intensity of the monsoons, the disaster control room stated.