Bhubaneswar, Oct. 27: The government has decided to keep classes suspended in all schools of Ganjam till October 30 in view of the grim flood situation in the district.

Colleges and other institutes of higher education, however, will reopen on November 4.“While some institutions are being used as shelter homes for the cyclone and flood victims, others are not in a safe condition at the moment. However, the teaching staff in all the schools have been asked to remain present on their respective campuses to help the relief and rehabilitation work,” said Usha Padhee, school and mass education secretary.

At least 1,400 schools have suffered serious damage because of floods triggered by cyclone Phailin on October 12 that ravaged the east coast.

In another development, the Met department has predicted heavy to very heavy rainfall in Ganjam, Gajapati, Khurda, Cuttack, Koraput, Rayagada, Nayagarh, Puri and Jagatsinghpur districts in the next 24 hours.