KOCHI: Vythiri in Wayanad and Piravom in Ernakulam received 17 cm and 15 cm of rains respectively on Tuesday even as the weather department issued heavy rainfall warnings for Wednesday. Fishermen were advised not to venture into the sea.The meteorological department stated that the sea conditions will be rough as strong winds with speed of 35-55 kmph are likely along Kerala coast and over Lakshadweep area.“Monsoon is very active with an offshore trough hitting the Kerala-Karnataka coast. Heavy rains will continue across the state on Wednesday. They are likely to continue in some areas till July 17,” said K Santhosh, director, IMD Thiruvananthapuram In Idukki, a 10-year-old girl had a narrow escape after a landslide hit the home of Illikal Biju and family, in Kallarkutty, at 7am on Tuesday. Several parts of the district experienced heavy rains and landslides have severely hit Kochi-Dhanushkodi national highway. The water level of Idukki dam recorded 2,355.86 feet on Saturday.Incessant rains inundated several low-lying areas in Wayanad, throwing life out of gear in many places. According to district administration, as many as 469 persons from 88 families have been shifted to 11 relief camps. Eight relief camps have been opened in Vythiri taluk, two in Mananthavadi and one in Sultan Bathery.Heavy rains have led to rising water levels in Banasura Sagar (771.9 MSL) and Karapuzha (758.2 MSL) reservoirs and their shutters will have to be opened within two-three days if rains continue unabated, sources said.Following a request from district collector A R Ajayakumar, Mysuru deputy commissioner has lowered the shutters of Kabani reservoir in the wake of the rising water level in rivers and streams.Incidentally, Kerala is getting an excess rainfall of one percent from June 1-July 10 for the first time since 2013, when it received an excess of 48%. In subsequent years — 2014 to 2017 — the initial rainfall from Southwest monsoon had been less. If the monsoon intensifies, the state would continue to get heavy rains till next week.“In Kerala’s monsoon season, it just keeps on raining with a few breaks in a day. But we have forgotten this scenario because of the changes in the monsoon system,” said C K Rajan, atmospheric scientist.Private weathercaster Skymet weather said the state received an excess of 15% rainfall from June 1 to June 30. However, there was a slump in the first few days of July, which brought down the surplus to one per cent. However, now, the trough can be seen extending from coastal Karnataka to Kerala coast and this helped in picking up the rainfall activity across the state, Skymet said.Collectors of Alappuzha, Wayanad, Kottayam and Idukki have declared holiday for all educational institutions except professional colleges on Wednesday due to incessant rains. Holiday will be compensated by working on a Saturday.

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