Rain brings parts of State to a halt, Intensity of rain likely to abate from Friday  

Heavy rain brought parts of Kerala to a halt for the fourth consecutive day with an reinvigorated southwest monsoon continuing to batter central and north Kerala on Thursday, triggering minor landslips in Kannur district and aggravating the coastal erosion along the coastline of the State.

Heavy rain brought parts of Kerala to a halt for the fourth consecutive day with an reinvigorated southwest monsoon continuing to batter central and north Kerala on Thursday, triggering minor landslips in Kannur district and aggravating the coastal erosion along the coastline of the State.

As many as 2,531 people were shifted to 112 relief camps in the State so far with Pathanamthitta witnessing the highest number of 52 camps accommodating 1,085 inmates.

A total of 29 houses were fully damaged in various rain-related incidents while 642 houses were partially damaged. In Thiruvananthapuram, a 15-year-old student identified as Akshay, a Class 10 student at Vithura Higher Secondary School, drowned in a pond while taking a bath in the morning at Aryanad.

In another incident, a 17-year-old, identified as Aditya Biju, drowned while taking a bath in a rainwater-filled pond near Thrikkodithanam at Changanassery in Kottayam. At Aymanom, a 73-year-old man, identified as Bhanu Kurumban, lost his life after falling into an inundated waterbody.

In Kannur, the heavy rain triggered landslips at two places in the forest area of Vaithalkund between Paithalmala and Kappimala, putting people residing in adjoining Vellad village in Taliparamba taluk on high alert. No casualties have been reported so far.

However, the landslip has caused widespread crop damage. In Kozhikode, the disaster management squad shifted 18 families from a tribal hamlet in Kodenchery panchayat following landslip threat.

In Kochi, hundreds, including women and children, residing in Kannamaly and nearby wards blocked the Pandikudi-Chellanam road for six hours in the morning demanding measures to protect their houses from rough sea attack. The protest was called off later after the district administration promised to initiate necessary measures, including setting up geobags to check seawater intrusion.