Flights to the Cochin airport have been diverted, an airport official told PTI

The Cochin International Airport has shut all operations till 9am on Friday as a precautionary measure after heavy rain caused waterlogging. Earlier, the airport was shut till midnight today.

Flights to the airport have been diverted, an airport official told PTI. The operations were suspended as there was a rise in the water level in Kerala's Periyar River and a canal adjacent to the airport.

The main runway of the airport is however intact. Other operations have been affected due to heavy rains that has battered Kerala for the past few days.

Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) on Wednesday had predicted ''fairly widespread'' to ''widespread rainfall'' with isolated heavy to very heavy rainfall in the state of Kerala for the next three days.

The state has requested for 10 teams of the National Disaster Response Force to be positioned in the state. Seven of these teams are expected to reach today. One NDRF team has been already positioned in Idukki.

Around 1,385 people have been evacuated to relief camps with more than 100 evacuated in Nilambur in Malappuram district alone.

A red alert, warning about likelihood of very heavy to extremely heavy rainfall, has been issued for four districts in Kerala where heavy rains, gusty winds and widespread landslips have wreaked havoc in several areas, including tourist destinations of Wayanad and Idukki, after the second spell of the south-west monsoon intensified.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has maintained that the state is prepared to tackle the situation.

All educational institutions in Idukki, Malappuram, Wayanad, Kozhikode, Kannur, Kasargod and Kottayam districts were closed today.

In August last year, the airport was non-functional for a fortnight due to severe infrastructural damage. A 2.6 km long wall had collapsed after the Periyar River overflowed. The estimated loss was then put between Rs 220-250 crore.