A large number of people residing in some of the affected villages have been displaced from their homes and forced to relocate to rehabilitation camps a day after heavy rains triggered a series of landslides in Kerala, residents of the particularly hard-hit areas of Kottayam and Idukki districts. So far, the death toll has risen to 17, PTI reported.
Several residents of Koottickal in Kottayam suffered a great deal of property damage. As expressed by many elderly villagers said it was for the first time in their decades-old life that they were seeing and experiencing such severe rainfall.
According to reports, the Army, NDRF, police, and the Fire Force along with the locals began rescue operations on Sunday morning at Koottickal and Kokkayar panchayats where over a dozen people are listed to be missing due to numerous landslides accompanied by heavy downpour since Saturday.
As per the latest updates, at least 17 people have been killed and many are feared missing as heavy rain pounded south and central Kerala causing flash floods and landslides in many parts, prompting the state government to seek the assistance of the Army and Air Force for rescue operations.
Weather experts attributed the intense spell, which saw many places recording more than 5 cm of rainfall within a span of two hours, to a 'mini-cloud burst event'. Peermade recorded the highest rainfall in the state with 24 cm followed by Cheruthoni, Chalakudy, and Poonjar at 14, reported Times of India.
