THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Heavy rain triggered floods and landslides across Kerala, with Kannur among the worst-affected districts.More than 500 people were shifted to relief camps as rescue and evacuation operations continued, news agency PTI reported.The Kerala State Disaster Management Authority (KSDMA) said parts of the state received exceptionally heavy rainfall on Saturday, with Ayyankunnu in Kannur recording 320mm.Several other parts of the northern Malabar region received between 90mm and 180mm of rain from 3am on Saturday to midnight.The downpour inundated low-lying and riverside areas across Kannur, Kozhikode, Wayanad, Kottayam, Idukki and Pathanamthitta, with water entering homes in several places.
Flooding, landslides disrupt several districts
Although rainfall eased by Sunday morning, floodwaters remained in several areas.Ranni in Pathanamthitta and Kuttanad in Alappuzha continued to remain inundated, with residents using small boats to move through affected areas.In Pathanamthitta, around 40 houses across 25 villages, mainly in Ranni and Konni, were damaged.Several areas of Ranni, Kozhencherry and Aranmula along the Pampa river were cut off by floodwaters, prompting the district administration to deploy boats to rescue stranded residents.Flooding and minor landslides were also reported in Ernakulam, Thrissur, Malappuram, Kasaragod and Palakkad.Engapuzha town in Kozhikode was inundated after a river overflowed, while landslides affected high-range areas of Kozhikode and Kannur.Traffic on ghat roads in Wayanad and Idukki was also regulated following landslides.
Rain-related deaths, damage reported
The heavy rain has also led to deaths and widespread damage across the state.In Idukki, Sumathi died after her house at Adoormala in Kudayathoor was buried under debris.Her husband and son escaped.Another person, Prabhakaran Nair, died after a landslide struck a house near Vagamon.In Kottayam, a woman and her son were killed after a landslide hit their house in Poonjar Thekkekara. An 11-year-old boy also died after falling into a waterlogged pit at a Jal Jeevan Mission reservoir construction site in Vakathanam.The state government said 65 relief camps had been opened, sheltering 1,465 people, while 17 houses were completely destroyed and another 127 suffered partial damage in rain-related incidents.
Dams opened as water levels rise
The rainfall also pushed up water levels in rivers and reservoirs.Shutters of dams in Thiruvananthapuram, Pathanamthitta, Idukki, Ernakulam, Thrissur and Kannur were opened as a precaution.The Thottappally spillway and barrages in Alappuzha were also opened to manage rising water levels.However, water levels in several dams declined after the rain subsided, allowing authorities to close shutters that had been opened earlier.Some power-generation dams in Idukki, Pathanamthitta and Thrissur continued to remain under red alert, KSDMA said.
IMD keeps several districts on alert
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) had issued an orange alert for 12 districts in Kerala for Sunday.A subsequent red alert covered Pathanamthitta, Kottayam, Idukki, Malappuram, Kozhikode, Wayanad, Kannur and Kasaragod, with extremely heavy rainfall forecast in these districts.An orange alert was issued for Ernakulam, Thrissur and Palakkad.The IMD said heavy rain was likely to continue in the state, prompting authorities to keep rescue teams on standby and advise residents in vulnerable areas to remain alert.Kerala revenue minister AP Anilkumar said relief camps would be opened wherever necessary and people living in high-risk areas could be shifted to safer locations as a precaution.(With agency inputs)
