December 14 holiday for schools, colleges in Kerala ?

Heavy rains will continue to pound parts of Kerala on December 14 tomorrow and today as the India Meteorological Department issued an orange alert for Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, and Pathanamthitta districts. As these three districts received an Orange alert, the government is likely to announce a holiday tomorrow, December 14. 

This is an indication of very heavy rainfall with amounts between 6 cm to 20 cm in the concerned areas. The India Meteorological Department has also issued a yellow alert for six other districts of the state, indicating that these districts are likely to witness heavy rainfall with 6 cm to 11 cm amounts.

The Kerala State Disaster Management Authority has issued warnings for strong winds, along with guidelines to help keep the public safe. For Thursday, the IMD red alert had been issued to three districts in Kerala and an orange alert for five districts in Kerala.

Given the heavy rainfall and orange alert, the schools and colleges in those affected districts would most likely be closed on December 14. However, an official confirmation from the state government is still awaited, while the district administration units are more likely to announce holidays for all classes tomorrow.

This type of weather caused schools to shut down. On 2 December, it was announced by the government to have holidays in several districts namely Kottayam, Idukki, Wayanad, Pathanamthitta and Kannur due to the heavy rainfall. Schools, Anganwadi, tuition centres and professional colleges were shut and all examinations scheduled had to be cancelled.

Chief Minister of Kerala, Pinarayi Vijayan, has asked the people living in landslide-prone areas to be prepared to move to safer places during the daytime. People staying in coastal areas have also been cautioned to remain alert as rough seas are expected.

Also read: December 14 Second Saturday holiday for schools, colleges in Telangana