At least 16 people were reportedly killed in rain-related incidents in Kerala in the past two days as southwestern monsoon activity intensified causing landslides, sea erosion, swelling of rivers and widespread power and traffic disruption due to uprooting of trees in strong winds and mudslides.
According to the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), the monsoon activity will remain intense with heavy rain and wind with speed up to 60 KMPH may occur in the State till Wednesday. Fishermen have been warned not to venture into the sea during the period and people living in the mountainous areas of the State have also been advised to remain alert.
Intense sea erosion was reported from Tirur and Tanur in north Kerala, where fishermen lost nets and other fishing implements and Chellanam near Kochi while the entire coastline of the State remained under the threat of swelling waves on Saturday and Sunday. Several houses in Chellanam were flooded due to sea erosion and people were shifted to safer places.
According to reports, three persons each were killed in monsoon-related incidents in the past two days in Thiruvananthapuram, Kannur and Alappuzha districts, two each in Kasaragod and Wayanad and one each in Idukki, Pathanamthitta and Kozhikode districts on Saturday and Sunday. Reports indicated that the death toll could still go up.
Most of the deaths occurred due to drowning in swollen rivers and waterlogged pits and uprooting of trees. Two children, Muhammad Shahil (8) and Sana Fatima (7), drowned in a pond at Cheeral near Sultan Bathery in Wayanad district on Sunday. The tragedy occurred after the children, who were relatives, slipped into the water while playing near the pond.
A four-year-old lKG student, Fatima, had died at Kushal Nagar in Kanhangad, Kasaragod on Saturday after she fell into a waterlogged pit. An eight-year-old boy Akshay of Aranmula, Pathanamthitta, on Sunday reportedly succumbed to the injuries he had suffered in an incident of tree uprooting on Saturday.
Two persons — one in Idukki and the other in Thiruvananthapuram — died on Sunday after coming to contact with live power lines that were snapped in the winds. At least five persons suffered injuries in two incidents of tree uprooting on Sunday in Idukki district. Dozens of houses have been destroyed or damaged in the rains and winds in the State since Friday.
Reports from the mountainous districts of Wayanad and Idukki said that people living in the higher reaches were in panic following reports on the possibility of landslides as heavy rains were expected to continue till Wednesday. Four milk vendors were injured at Ayyanpuzha, Angamaly near Kochi on Sunday morning in an incident of tree uprooting.
Extensive damages in heavy rains and winds were reported from Thiruvananthapuram, Idukki, Thrissur, Kozhikode and Kannur districts. Control rooms have been opened in all Taluks and three relief camps have started functioning in Kozhikode districts. Control rooms have also been opened in Idukki district.
At least four incidents of landslides were reported from Idukki district in the past two days. Four tourist resorts were ordered to be shut down at Pallivasal near Munnar following a landslide on Saturday. Traffic along the Kochi-Dhanushkodi National Highway came to a standstill following a landslide on the Adimali-Munnar Road in Idukki district.
A one-and-a-half acre farmland was washed away near View Point at Kallimali near Rajakkad in Idukki district on Sunday. However, no casualties were reported in the incident. Reports said that many areas of the district like Rajakkad and Bison Valley had been out of electricity since Friday due to uprooting of trees in rains and winds.
The Idukki District Collector on Sunday declared Monday as a holiday for all educational institutions except professional colleges in the district in view of the intense monsoon activity. Tourists and others were advised to avoid travel through the high ranges of Idukki district after evening till Wednesday.