With five deaths reported in rain-related incidents and all the rivers breaching the banks following incessant rain, Kottayam is facing a grim situation for the second time in a month.
More than 17,000 people have been displaced and relocated to relief camps and more are pouring in as the low-lying western areas face inundation and the hill tracts are under threat of landslips.
Four persons were killed in a major landslip at Teekoy, near Erattupetta, in Meenachil taluk. The dead were identified as Rosamma, alias Maamy, 85, her daughter Molly, 50, and grandchildren Tintu, 9, and Alphonsa, 8. Their stepson Joemon, 17, is seriously injured and admitted to a hospital. There were seven people at home when earth collapsed on Wednesday night bringing down the house. The others escaped, reports said.
In another case, the body of Shivaraman, 63, who had gone missing from Vaikaprayar at Udayanapuram grama panchayat in Vaikom was retrieved from a nearby polder on Thursday morning.
The Koottickal area in the eastern hill stretch has been experiencing a series of landslips since Wednesday. After a landslip at Kodungayil, near Plappaally, 30 people were moved to relief camps. Another 250 people were moved to relief camps after the Mealethadom area witnessed landslips. Changanassery taluk was one of the worst hit as floodwaters entered almost all villages.