As rains intensified in Keralam, triggering mudslides, landslides and flash floods that claimed five lives and left two persons missing, Chief Minister V D Satheesan ordered an hourly assessment of the situation.

The India Meteorological Department has issued an orange alert for six Kerala districts — Pathanamthitta, Alappuzha, Kottayam, Idukki, Ernakulam and Thrissur — valid from 7 am on Monday, with heavy to very heavy rainfall and thunderstorms with surface winds of up to 40 kmph likely at isolated places. Chief Minister VD Satheesan has directed the state’s rain situation to be assessed hourly, and SMS alerts have been issued in Idukki and Kottayam districts. Collectors in both districts have been directed to assess conditions and initiate evacuation if needed. On Sunday, four people were killed in separate landslip incidents in Idukki and Kottayam, while heavy rain triggered a flash flood on the Kottapuzha River in Nilambur, Malappuram, sweeping away six people.

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