Kerala rains: Cochin Airport shuts down, to resume operations on Sunday

Kochi, Aug 09: Operations at the Cochin International Airport has been suspended.

Operations will remain suspended till August 11, 3 pm, officials say citing heavy rains.

Heavy rains have lashed the state and several persons have been evacuated. A red alert for very heavy rainfall was issued in Kerala at the districts of Idukki, Mallapuram, Kozhikode. An orange alert has been sounded for Thrissur, Palakkad, Wayanad, Kannur and Kasargor.

Meanwhile a landslide occurred at Puthumala, Wayanad on Thursday. Rescue operations are underway.

As a red alert has been sounded, the Kerala government has sought the help of the Army and the NDRF for rescue missions.

Heavy rains battered large swathes of the country and the situation remained grim in flood-hit parts of Karnataka and Maharashtra, where 2.5 lakh have been evacuated, while several rivers were in spate in Andhra Pradesh.

Sixteen deaths in rain and flood-related incidents have been reported from western Maharashtra in the last seven days, while the toll in Karnataka rose to five since Sunday and nearly 26,000 people have been evacuated.

Heavy downpour triggered by a deep depression, which crossed Odisha coast, battered several parts of the state creating a flood-like situation and disrupting train services in some areas in southern region.

Floodgates were opened in the dams in Maharashtra and barrages and reservoirs in Karnataka, where road and rail links remain hit by incessant monsoon rains.

Nearly 2.5 lakh people have been evacuated in Sangli, Kolhapur and Pune, Divisional Commissioner Deepak Mhaisekar said.