Kerala: Landslides kill 9, Kochi airport runway temporarily closed

Idukki/Kochi: Nine people were killed and several others were reported missing as a string of landslides triggered by heavy downpour battered the high range Idukki and adjoining districts of Kerala on Monday. Chief Minister Oommen Chandy has called an emergency cabinet meeting to review the situation and gear up relief operations. [caption id=“attachment_1010385” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational image. Reuters[/caption] The Cochin International Airport has been temporarily closed and two flights have been diverted due to a water-logged runway. Periyar river and canals are overflowing after the downpour lashed the area since Sunday. “Cochin International Airport has been closed till 2.30 pm as water entered the runway as the Periyar river is overflowing after shutters of the Edamalayalar dam were opened,” Airport Director ACK Nair told PTI. The deceased included two children and two women as their houses on the hills in Idukki district were swept away by flash floods, police said. A district where most people are small and marginal farmers, Idukki also suffered heavy crop and property loss. Several people were also reported missing after a huge mound of rock and rubble came crashing down at Chiyyappara in Idukki while relief work was on in the area where a landslide occurred in the wee hours. Several vehicles were trapped in the debris and rescue work hampered as roads in the district were blocked by rubble spawned by landslide and flashfloods. The sandbanks of the Periyar river in Aluva, where thousands are to converge to perform the Balitharpanam ritual on Tuesday, the day of Karkitakavavu, is flooded and the Shiva temple at the same location is almost submerged. Ernakulam District Collector Sheikh Pareed said possibilities of making alternative arrangements for conducting the ritual were being explored and the help of Navy has been sought to tackle the situation. For now, people in affected areas have been shifted to relief camps. The IMD has cautioned fishermen not to venture into the sea in the next 48 hours as strong winds of 45-55 kmph could lash coastal areas along with heavy rains. PTI