Orange alert, but sunny day: How a weather warning rained damage on Wayanad's tourism

A weather alert issued on Saturday hit the tourism industry in Wayanad in a major way, with the 'orange alert' prompting an official ban on all tourism activities for Sunday. However, after mass cancellations of room bookings and widespread disappointment among tourists who had to change their plans, the alert was revised by weather officials, being downgraded to a yellow alert. But by then, the damage was done. 

The entire episode began soon after an orange alert, warning of very heavy rainfall (115.6–204.4 mm in 24 hours), was issued by the India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Saturday for Sunday. This was followed by an announcement through a press release from District Collector V. Chelsasini, who also chairs the District Disaster Management Authority (DDMA), announcing a ban on all tourism activities and the closure of tourist destinations across the district, along with other routine disaster-management precautions.

The announcement triggered chaos through the district, especially in the tourism and hospitality industries, resulting in mass cancellations of rooms. 

Frantic calls 
Hundreds of tourists with bookings in Wayanad from Sunday onward began calling property owners and travel agents to ask whether it was safe to travel and which destinations would be open. The Collector’s statement also said that En Ooru, the ethnic village at Lakkidi, would remain closed on Sunday.

There was tension among tourism operators on Sunday, as the October Pooja holidays were considered the industry’s second busiest season, after the Christmas and New Year period in December and January.

Meanwhile, the IMD alert was reversed to ‘Yellow Alert’ (64.5–115.5 mm in 24 hours), and it was a sunny day on Sunday, with only scattered showers in some areas later in the evening.

The District Tourism Promotion Council (DTPC) later posted an urgent message on social media saying that all its destinations would operate as usual on Sunday. However, tourism operators said the damage had already been done.

When asked about the confusing alert, DTPC Member Secretary Benosh Kunjappan told Onmanorama that the Collector’s statement had been issued while the alert was orange, and that the IMD later downgraded it to yellow.

“We have a communication network to activate our employees at all destinations, and all our destinations were open yesterday,” he said, however, declining to comment on the alerts and their potential impact on the industry and the local economy. Property owners alleged that the alerts were inaccurate, saying they had repeatedly left tourism businesses in a difficult position in recent months. Tourism operators noted that rainfall patterns, terrain, landslide vulnerability and local conditions varied significantly across Wayanad.

M J Sunil Kumar, president of the Wayanad Tourism Organization (WTO), told Onmanorama that such statements and alerts were damaging the industry. He said tourism operators’ WhatsApp groups were flooded with questions from guests already travelling to Wayanad, and that many tourists had changed their plans and diverted to other destinations from Kozhikode and Bengaluru.

Social media users also voiced concern about the recurring impact of such alerts on the industry. Sumesh Mangalassery of Kabani Community Tourism and Services said Wayanad was under a yellow alert on Sunday, yet the District Collector had ordered the closure of all tourist destinations and activities.

“Since Sunday morning, I have been receiving calls from friends asking whether it is safe to visit Wayanad and seeking information about safe destinations,” he said. Visitors, he added, were left unsure about what remained open, what was restricted and why.

The need of the hour is location-specific alerts, not blanket bans
Sumesh Mangalassery described the situation as a disaster governance issue that needed to be addressed urgently. “We are not disputing the need for precaution,” he said, referring to the region’s recurring disasters. “But does a district-wide weather alert automatically mean that every location in Wayanad faces the same level of risk?”

Experts have also pointed out that rainfall intensity and related risks can vary considerably even within a single panchayat. Restrictions may be essential in high-risk areas, they said, but decisions should be guided by scientific risk assessments, local vulnerabilities and clearly communicated safety protocols, not blanket bans.

Though Onmanorama tried to contact District Collector Chelsasini for her version on the issue, she was not available for comments. It was also pointed out that the IMD’s Kochi radar was reportedly shut down for maintenance when a system failure meant it did not warn of the heavy rain that triggered a mudslide at the mouth of the twin-tunnel road site in Kalladi on July 7, killing eight people. No heavy rain warning had been issued for the district. Officials, however, maintained that the available forecasts did not indicate rainfall of exceptional intensity that would have required a large-scale evacuation.

Despite these concerns, roads to Wayanad were packed, with traffic moving at a snail’s pace, according to reports. Most destinations were busy, while resorts and homestays were fully booked as the recent rains brought relief to the region. The confusing alerts, however, remain a concern for the tourism industry.