20 killed, Kochi airport closed till Sunday as heavy rains lash Kerala

At least 20 people were killed after heavy rains continued to pound Kerala, said officials on Friday. Authorities said the toll is likely to go even further up as several people are reported missing in landslide-hit areas of Wayanad in north Kerala.

The Cochin International Airport has been closed till 3 pm Sunday after flood waters reached the runway. Earlier on Thursday, the authorities said the airport will be closed till 1 am on Friday as a precautionary measure in view of heavy rains. During last year’s flood, the airport was closed for two weeks.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s constituency Wayanad is worst-hit with several missing and many areas still cut off after a massive landslide in Meppadi. In view of heavy rains revenue authorities have advised tourists to avoid Wayanad and Idukki districts till Aug 15. “Some areas like Nilambur, Iritty, Kottiyur and hill destination Munnar received 18-20 cms rainfall in last 24 hours”, the met office said.

Expressing concern over the flood situation in the country, Rahul Gandhi urged Congress party workers to help the affected people. “The flood situation in Kerala, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Odisha, Assam and Bihar is grim, with lakhs of citizens stranded or displaced. I request Congress party workers in the affected states to do all they can to help those in need,” he tweeted.

All educational institutions in 11 districts will will remain closed on Friday in view of the floods.

Educational institutions in 11 districts will remain closed on Friday.

Earlier on Friday, Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan had sought Army and Air Force’s help as weathermen predicted more rains in next two days.

Rains pounded the state as it was about to observe the first anniversary of the flood of the century that claimed more than 450 lives last year. Of the 44 rivers in the state, more than half of them are in spate and many dams are filled to the brim, said revenue officials. More than 20,000 people have been evacuated to safer places as overflowing rivers and swollen dams flooded several districts amid heavy rains, they said.

The Kerala’s Disaster Management Authority had issued a red alert in Idukki, Malappuram, Kozhikode and Wayanad districts for next two days. Red alert means the notified area will receive very heavy to extremely heavy rainfall. In some districts yellow alert - second lesser warning - will remain in force till Sunday, the regional metrological centre said.

The latest flood occurred at a time when the state was yet to recover from the last year’s flood tragedy. Millions were affected and more than 450 people were killed in torrential rain and floods in August last year. The flooding caused severe damage to agriculture, homes and other infrastructure. The situation was aggravated after authorities released water from many dams simultaneously as the rain intensified in mid-August. More than 1 million people had been shifted to relief camps as authorities declared a red alert in 13 out of 14 districts. The state government had imposed one per cent cess last week to rebuild the flood-hit infrastructure.

Despite the incessant rains in last couple of days, the state is still rain deficit. This year’s rainfall till August 8 is 1147.4 mm and normal rainfall during this period is 1497. 1 mm, but weathermen said going by the current spell, it will be more than normal as the monsoon season draws to close. “Monsoon is a four-month season. In Kerala July-August period gets maximum rains. But these days some particular days get heavy rainfall due to some external reasons. So we can’t say monsoon pattern in changing absolutely,” said IMD regionl centre director K Santosh.

First Published: Aug 09, 2019 07:30 IST