Heavy rains lash Kerala, orange alert in 4 districts; many parts of Thiruvananthapuram flooded

As heavy rains continued to batter Kerala, landslides and flooding were reported from many parts of the state, especially its southernmost district of Thiruvananthapuram, which was severely affected by waterlogging in several areas on Sunday.

According to visuals shown on TV channels, the heavy rains since Saturday led to waterlogging and flooding of streets, roads and low-lying areas of Thiruvananthapuram district.

The Technopark colony in Kazhakootam, a suburban area in the district, saw water entering homes leading to people being evacuated from homes, as per the visuals.

Water entered hundreds of homes in the district and in some areas there were also incidents of landslides, according to the visuals.

Visuals also showed cars almost submerged while rescuers evacuated people from homes in inflatable boats to camps in some parts of Thiruvananthapuram.

State General Education Minister V Sivankutty, who visited the flooded areas, said in a Facebook post that the rains since the previous night have created an unusual situation in the city of Thiruvananthapuram.

He said there was waterlogging in many places and the non-receding of the rising sea water has also aggravated the situation.

The minister said the district administration was conducting relief operations on a wartime basis and all kinds of the aid and assistance would be provided to those affected.

State Revenue Minister K Rajan also visited some of the flood affected areas, according to his Facebook post.

After a ministerial level meeting was held, Sivankutty, at a press briefing, said many parts of Thiruvananthapuram, especially the capital city, have been seriously affected by floods and waterlogging.

Rajan said that over 100 mm of rainfall was received in the capital city and nearly double that in the area around the international airport since Saturday night.

"It is one of the major reasons for the waterlogging and flooding," he said.

The minister said that his cabinet colleagues -- state Transport Minister Antony Raju and Civil Supplies Minister G R Anil -- were also monitoring the situation and concerned government officials have been asked to report for duty.

Additionally, 17 relief camps have been operationalised in the district and 572 people are presently sheltered there, he said.

"Though the situation is under control, more water needs to recede..," he added.

Many residents of the district and the state capital told channels that even in the 2018 floods, such a situation was not seen.

"The flooding and water entering homes began post midnight suddenly. It was unexpected," a resident said.

Waterlogging of roads and water entering homes were also reported from various parts of Ernakulam district on Saturday.

Meanwhile, on Sunday, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued an orange alert in four -- Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Pathanamthitta and Alappuzha -- and yellow alert in 8 districts of the state for the day.

The IMD also predicted isolated heavy rainfall in many places in the state in the coming days.

It issued an orange alert in four districts and yellow alert in the remainder of the districts of the state for Monday.

An orange alert means very heavy rain from 6 cm to 20 cm of rain and a yellow alert means heavy rainfall between 6 and 11 cm.