Thiruvananthapuram/Wayanad | The India Meteorological Department on Friday said Kerala will receive heavy to very heavy rains in the next few days due to weather conditions and wind patterns prevailing over peninsular India.

The IMD said that a low pressure trough located from north Kerala coast to south Gujarat coast, another well marked low pressure area over northwest Bay of Bengal and the strong westerly/ northwesterly winds along the Kerala coast would result in moderate to heavy rains in the southern state for the next five days.

The IMD also issued an orange alert in the four northern Kerala districts of Kozhikode, Wayanad, Kannur and Kasaragod for the day and a yellow alert in five other districts.

An orange alert means very heavy rain (6 cm to 20 cm). A yellow alert means heavy rainfall between 6 to 11 cm.

Heavy rains in the state, especially in the northern Malabar region, caused flooding, uprooting of trees, minor landslides and traffic snarls.

In Wayanad, due to flooding of the Muthanga National Highway (NH 766), 25 vehicles with around 400 passengers were stranded there for several hours since midnight, the district administration said.

The people were rescued to safety following an over three-hour long operation by the fire department with the support of the police, forest officials and locals of the area, it said.

Besides that, till Friday morning, more than 2,300 people have been relocated to the 42 camps set up in the hill district in view of the incessant rains, which have led to a dangerous rise in water levels of rivers, partially damaged around 29 homes and destroyed crops on 125 hectares of land