Three persons of a six-member family were killed, and 18 others reportedly went missing as a series of landslides struck the high eastern ranges of Kottayam district and the western part of Idukki district. This is the worst case of rain-related damage ever recorded in Kottayam.

Koottikkal panchayat in Kottayam bore the brunt of the rain fury, with three houses and a tea shop washed away in two different landslides reported in Plappalli and Kavali. With three more bodies being recovered from Koottikkal, the death toll in the flash floods and landslides rose to eight.

The rescue operations are in full swing for the missing persons. While eight more persons are still missing in the landslide at Kottikkal, another seven persons are missing at Kokkayar in Idukki. Due to heavy rains, the rescue operations led by National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) team and a dog squad are affected at Kokkayar. Out of the seven missing in Kokkayar, five are children.

Meanwhile, given ‘red alert’ in five districts of Kerala, Southern Naval Command headquarters in Kochi has gone up in readiness for assisting local administration in rescue operations. The Kerala State Disaster Management Authority (KSDMA) has sought assistance from Southern Naval Command at Kochi for airlifting marooned families at Koottickal village in Kottayam. KSDMA is in touch with Naval Authorities. The diving and rescue teams are ready to be deployed at short notice. In addition, helicopters are also prepared to be deployed once the weather is conducive for air operations.

An alert by the IMD said the low-pressure area over the Southeast Arabian sea and adjoining Kerala has become less marked. However, a trough of low at mean sea level now lies over Southeast adjoining east-central Arabian Sea off north Kerala-Karnataka coasts. “Possibility of light to moderate rainfall at many places with only isolated heavy rainfall over Kerala during next 24 hours and further decrease after that,” it said.