The state of Kerala and its people are sort of having a deja vu moment. Flight operations at Cochin International Airport in Kerala have been stopped till 3 pm on Sunday due to heavy rain, airport officials said today. The water level in Periyar river and a canal near the airport has been rising. Flight operations were stopped till 9 am today, but it had to be extended after the apron area at the Kochi airport got flooded, Cochin International Airport Ltd (CIAL) posted on its Facebook page.
A red alert has been issued for four districts in Kerala where rains have left some villages submerged and isolated from the rest of the state. Kerala State Disaster Management Authority issued red alert for Wayanad, Idukki, Malappuram and Kozhikode this morning. Around 22,165 people have been evacuated to safety and are lodged in 315 camps across the state. Schools and colleges are shut in all 14 districts of the southern state today, except state capital Thiruvananthapuram and Kollam.