A six-year-old girl in Kerala's Wayanad district lost her life after an uprooted tree came crashing down on her house while the entire family was asleep, due to heavy rain and storm that lashed the area on Tuesday night. The child, identified as Jyothika, was living with her family at Valad near Mananthavady. Jyothika's father Babu, who was seriously injured in the mishap, is presently under treatment in Kozhikode Medical College.
Officials of Thalappuzha police station confirmed the girl's death. Parts of Wayanad district, along with other northern Kerala districts have been witnessing severe rain and storm since Tuesday night.
Meanwhile, damages to more houses have been reported from Wayanad district due to the heavy rainfall. Two houses were partially damaged after trees fell over them in Muttil North and Purakkadi village. No casualties have been reported as a result of these mishaps. Roads were also blocked in parts of the district after trees were uprooted due to strong winds and heavy rainfall.
A low pressure area formed in the Bay of Bengal has strengthened monsoon in parts of central and northern Kerala districts.
A code orange warning has been issued by the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) for Wednesday and the coming few days for Ernakulam, Idukki, Thrissur, Palakkad, Malappuram, Kozhikode, Wayanad, Kannur and Kasaragod districts. The warning implies that district administrations must be prepared to take necessary action.
The IMD has also predicted that strong, gusty winds reaching a speed of 40 kilometres per hour and moderate rain will occur across parts of districts like Idukki, Thrissur, Palakkad and Malappuram till 1 pm on Wednesday. Fishermen by the Kerala coast are also advised not to venture out into the sea.
Ever since IMD predicted the formation of a low pressure area over Bay of Bengal, the Kerala government has been preparing for heavy rainfall across the state. People have been advised to cooperate with district administrations when asked to shift from their houses, foreseeing untoward incidents.
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