Kerala rain: 4 dead amid downpour; red alert in Kannur, Kozhikode

Thiruvananthapuram: Four rain-related casualties were reported in Kerala on Tuesday amid the heavy downpour across the state.  
Two people were killed after a house collapsed at Kannambra in Palakkad district on Monday. The deceased are Kottekad natives Sulochana (54) and her son Ranjith (33). Fire Force personnel shifted the bodies to Alathur hospital. The one-room house collapsed while its residents were asleep at night. The neighbours did not hear any noise due to the heavy downpour. Sulochana was bedridden and Ranjith was a conductor at a private bus.

An elderly man and a woman drowned after falling into waterlogged areas in Kannur's Chokli and Mattanur respectively on Tuesday.

A red alert was issued in Kannur and Kozhikode in the 1 pm forecast issued by the Met department. IMD also issued an orange alert in Kasaragod, Wayanad, Malappuram, Palakkad, Thrissur, Ernakulam, and Idukki. Pathanamthitta, Alappuzha, and Kottayam districts are under a yellow alert. A red alert indicates heavy to extremely heavy rain of over 20 cm in 24 hours, while an orange alert means very heavy rain of 11 cm to 20 cm, and a yellow alert means heavy rainfall between 6 cm and 11 cm.

Red alert for 5 dams
A red alert warning was issued for five dams in the State- Kallarkutty, Erattayar, Lower Periyar, Kallar dams in Idukki, and Peringalkuthu dam in Thrissur. The water is flowing out of the dam spillways currently, Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) said.
The shutters of Peringalkuthu and Malankara dams were raised following the heavy downpour.

Madden-Julian Oscillation's influence
The India Meteorological Department has warned that Kerala will continue to witness heavy rain on Tuesday and Wednesday due to the Madden-Julian Oscillation (MJO), a global rain system moving from the eastern Indian Ocean to the western Pacific Ocean. The MJO phenomenon involves the mass movement of clouds across the equator. It was named after American scientists Roland Madden and Paul Julian, who discovered it in 1971. Due to the influence of the MJO, cyclones and depressions may form in the Bay of Bengal. 

The Met Department has also said that there is a possibility of medium to very heavy rain at isolated places in Kerala for the next five days. Caution should be exercised due to the possibility of lightning and wind.
Fishing is prohibited along the coasts of Kerala, Karnataka, and Lakshadweep.

Rain-related damages
A youth is trapped in the Seetharkundu waterfall in Palakkad. A rescue attempt by the fire force is underway.
A woman was trapped inside her home in Kozhikode after the front side of her house collapsed in the heavy rain. The woman Reena was living on rent at Nodichippara house. Local residents rescued her by removing the collapsed wall.

In Ernakulam, the Aluva Shiva temple submerged after heavy rains led to the overflow of Periyar river. On the Kottayam–Kumarakom–Cherthala route, a tree fell on two cars on Bund Road. No casualties were reported. As heavy rain continues in Idukki district, travel has been banned from 7 pm to 6 am. On the Chappath-Kattapana road, traffic has been banned due to the collapse of an old stone wall at Aladi in Idukki.

In Kollam, branches of a fallen tree struck a bus carrying school students, but the children escaped unharmed. A large tree in the Mangad Government HSS premises was uprooted. Access to Tenkasi Kuttalam Falls and Aryankav Palaruvi Falls has been blocked due to heavy water flow.

Thirty-one houses partially collapsed in Alappuzha district. A couple was injured when a tree branch fell near the Mattancherry bridge in the morning. Shiad Manzilil Unais (30) and his wife Alina (28) were standing on the side of the road due to rain when the branch fell at Maithili Junction. Both are in the intensive care unit. Unais's condition is critical. The body of a youth who had gone missing in the flood in Palakkad's Palakkayam Vattapara Cherupuzha was found on Monday.