The heavy rain that continued to lash the district for the fourth consecutive day on Sunday led to flooding of all major rivers in the district, triggering fears of a flood as in last year.
The authorities on Sunday recovered the body of Maneesh Sebastian, who had gone missing in the Meenachil river the other day. The body was found floating on the water near Punnathura during a search operation by the Fire and Rescue Department along with the Navy. The 32-year-old, a native of Cherppunga, had been caught in the strong currents while trying to catch a log adrift on the water.
With the flood water inundating the low-lying areas, the authorities have opened two more relief camps- one each at Parambuzha and Pallipuram. The four relief camps in the district together are accommodating 82 residents from 18 families.
Traffic disruptions were reported from a couple of locations due to tree falls though no major accidents were reported.
While the sun had come out in the morning, by afternoon rain clouds gathered in many parts and the showers continued without a break till late in the evening.
Meanwhile, the IMD has predicted that the rainfall would come down gradually over the next few days. The region is likely to witness isolated heavy to very heavy rains for just a couple of days more, which will then come down to light to moderate rainfall from July 24 onward.
Holiday
The Collector has declared holiday for all educational institutions except professional colleges within the limits of Kottayam municipality, Aymanam, Arpookkara, Kumarakom and Thiruvarppu panchayats.