Rains have returned, after a brief respite, to Kannur, Kozhikode, Palakkad, Malappuram, Thrissur, Ernakulam, Idukki and Pathanamthitta districts, followed by a warning from the Chief Minister, Pinarayi Vijayan, that the water level at river Periyar may go up further.

Relief and rescue

Relief and rescue forces are responding to the distress calls but often find themselves overwhelmed by the sheer scale and spread of the disaster. River Periyar, rendered swollen by incremental flows from both the Mullaperiyar and the Idukki reservoirs, has swamped the urban landscape of Angamali, Chalakkudi and Aluva towns.

These are situated on the main road that links Thrissur with Ernakulam and are also marked out for their easy access to the Cochin International Airport at midway Nedumbassery, which is lying closed.

Latest reports suggest that the shut-down period that is originally scheduled to end on Saturday may get extended since there is no respite from the flooding conditions in Periyar.

It is in this context that the warning from the Chief Minister has come in which he has said that the water level at Periyar could go up by as high as a metre.

Those living within 500 metres of where the floodwaters had reached the latest, have been advised to clear out by the evening, the Chief Minister said.

Rail services stuck

The Southern Railway has cancelled all services from Thiruvananthapuram Central on reports of flooding of railway tracks. After the Nedumbassery airport was closed, it was now the turn of the Cochin Metro to stop services today after its yard at Muttom in Aluva was flooded.

Meanwhile, social media is flooded with SoS messages from the Thrissur, Ernakulam and Pathanamthitta districts after floodwaters rushed into houses, hostels, hospitals and institutions.

At least 1,000 people are reported to be stranded at the Divine Centre, Potta, Chalakkudi, while a group of residents at a girls hostel at Angamali are stuck after muddy waters filled up till the second floor.

Even well-to-do families have not been spared as channel visuals showed decently built houses flooded up to the second floor and luxury cars floating in the backyard.

The Air Force, the Army, the Navy and the National Disaster Response Force are coordinating with the state government agencies to pull off a Herculean task of executing relief and rescue.

The Air Force has started lifting the stranded people from the stricken Aranmula and Kozhencherry areas in the worst-hit Pathanamthitta district.

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