Kerala monsoon havoc: Floods disrupt life in northern districts, rail services hit

Thiruvananthapuram: Incessant monsoon rains continued to wreak havoc in Kerala on Monday, disrupting normal life, including road and rail traffic.

Northern districts bore the brunt of the rainfall, witnessing rising water levels in rivers and other water bodies.

Several residents were forced to evacuate to relief camps in districts, including Kannur and Kasaragod as flood water entered their homes.

In Kannur, people were seen wading through knee-deep water to reach safer places since Sunday evening.

"Children and elderly people were already shifted to relatives' houses. We are now moving to a relief camp opened nearby," a resident said.

He lamented that frequent waterlogging following rains has made their lives miserable, preventing children from attending school and adults from going to work.

In the Kakkad area of Kannur, an arterial road was completely submerged, bringing traffic to a standstill.

Commuters, unaware of the situation, struggled to push their two-wheelers through knee-deep water on the road.

In Kasaragod, major rivers including Thejaswini Puzha are in spate, prompting authorities to issue warnings against venturing into water bodies.

At least 10 families were moved to relief camps in the Vellarikund area in the district, authorities said.

In the southern district of Pathanamthitta, a man sustained injuries after a tree uprooted by heavy rains and gusty winds fell on his house in Malayalapuzha on Sunday evening.

Heavy rainfall caused significant delays in rail traffic across the state.

According to authorities, several trains, including Venad and Malabar Expresses and passenger trains, were running behind schedule.

According to India Meteorological Department (IMD), the southwest monsoon remained active over Kerala, bringing widespread rainfall across the state and Lakshadweep.

Extremely heavy rainfall of 21 cm was recorded in Thennala (Malappuram district), while Vadakara in Kozhikode received 18 cm and multiple locations in Kasaragod and Kannur reported 15–16 cm.

A total of 127 stations reported rainfall, with one location experiencing extremely heavy rain, 19 with very heavy rain, and 33 reporting heavy rainfall, it said.

Gusty winds were also reported, peaking at 80 kmph in Idukki, followed by 61 kmph in Kottayam and Wayanad.

Moderate rainfall and gusty wind speed reaching 50 kmph is likely to occur at one or two places in Thiruvananthapuram, Ernakulam, Thrissur, Palakkad, Malappuram, Kozhikode, Wayanad, Kannur and Kasaragod districts in the coming hours, IMD added.