Friday 19 / April / 2024
Muscat: At least 25 people were killed in a series of landslides in Kerala following heavy rains, authorities announced on Friday.
The Indian Army and National Disaster Response Force of India have been deployed in affected areas in Idukki, Kozhikode, Waynad and Malappuram of Kerala to assist the civil administration in the rescue operations.
On Thursday, Kochi Airport halted its arrival operations for few hours in view of possible inundation in the airport area, following a rise in water level of the Periyar river.
As a result Oman Air flight to Cochin was diverted while Jet Airways Muscat-Cochin flight was delayed on Thursday, according to the airport authorities.
"Kerala has received 17 percent more rainfall so far during the current season compared with last year," K. Santhosh, Kerala director of India's Meteorological Department, told Reuters.
The June-September rains in Kerala state have cost 175 lives and damaged crops worth 3.42 billion rupees ($49.81 million) across 26,824 hectares (66,284 acres) since their onset on May 29, an official at the Kerala State Disaster Management Authority (KSDMA), who did not wish to be identified, said.
— With inputs from Reuters
