THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Four people, including two children, lost their lives on Tuesday as heavy rains continued to lash many parts of the state. Many people were evacuated to relief and rehabilitation camps. Crops worth lakhs of rupees were also destroyed. The Indian Meteoroligical Department (IMD) said that a cyclonic circulation was present over east-central Arabian Sea and it was likely to persist during the next three days and as result, isolated heavy to very heavy rainfall was very likely in Kerala during October 11 to October 15.
Earlier in the day, during the wee hours before dawn, two children lost their lives due to the rains after a nearby under construction house collapsed onto their residence, police said. Rizana aged eight and seven-month old Rinzan are the two dead. The two were children of Aboobacker Siddique and Sumayya. Although the two children were rushed to the hospital, their lives could not be saved.
In Kollam, Govinda Raj (65), a priest of the Aryankavu Nagamala temple, died when a wooden bridge collapsed while he was leaving the temple to escape a flood. In Cherthala, a 70-year-old named Chirayil Vasudevan drowned in a flooded area.
In Thrissur, state Minister for Land Revenue K Rajan, taking note of the heavy rainfall there which was leading to rise in water level of Chalakudy river and flooding of houses near Koodappuzha, directed taking of immediate precautionary measures.
An emergency meeting was held at the Chalakudy taluk office under the leadership of the district collector who also visited some of the flooded sites and advised people living in low lying areas not to be averse to moving from there.
He later told reporters that the situation was under control and that entry to tourist attractions in the district was prohibited presently.
Other district administrations, like that of Wayanad, Kannur and Kasaragod, said they have geared up to face any calamities which could result due to the downpour and have cautioned fishermen and those living in the low-lying areas to be alert.
The incessant rains also flooded or waterlogged many roads and low lying areas in the state, according to district level authorities.
The weather department has predicted 64.5 mm to 204.4 mm of rainfall in the next 24 hours in various parts of the southern state.
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