Red alert in four districts; body of T.N. fisherman who went missing washed ashore

Heavy rain lashed most districts on Sunday with the southwest monsoon continuing to be active over Kerala. The central and northern districts can expect widespread rainfall for at least two more days, an IMD forecast indicated. Since Friday, 260 families have been shifted to 17 relief camps across the State.

Red alerts warning of extremely heavy rainfall have been issued for Kozhikode, Kannur and Wayanad for Monday and Kannur and Kasaragod for Tuesday.

Orange alerts signalling very heavy rainfall have been issued for Ernakulam, Idukki, Thrissur, Malappuram and Kasaragod for Monday; Thrissur, Palakkad, Malappuram, Kozhikode and Wayanad for Tuesday; and Kozhikode, Kannur and Kasaragod for Wednesday.

The body of one of the three fishermen from Tamil Nadu who went missing in the sea off Kollam on Friday was recovered on Sunday. The body of Sahayaraju, from Kanyakumari district, washed ashore at Anchuthengu, Thiruvananthapuram, on Sunday, the Coastal Police said. Search will resume for the two others, Raju and John Bosco, on Monday. They were part of a five-member crew which left Neendakara on Friday. After their boat was wrecked by the waves, two of the men, Nicholas and Stalin, had swum ashore.

Landslips in Idukki

In Thiruvananthapuram, 143 families have been shifted to six relief camps till Sunday. In Kottayam, which received heavy rains for the fourth consecutive day, the authorities recovered the body of Maneesh, 32, who had gone missing in the Meenachil river. His body was found afloat near Punnathura.

Idukki reported heavy rainfall and landslips on Sunday also. The water level in Mullaperiyar dam rose to 113.1 ft on Sunday.

In Alappuzha, coastal erosion has been severe in Ambalapuzha, Arattupuzha and Kattoor. Relief camps were opened at Arattupuzha and Kattoor.

Thirteen houses were damaged by uprooted trees and in landslides in Kasaragod. The district remained on high alert on Sunday following the declaration of a red alert.