Five drown as heavy rains pound North Kerala, red alert sounded

Thiruvananthapuram: Five people lost their lives Monday as heavy rains continued to pound North Kerala and over 300 persons were shifted to relief camps in the state as the South West Monsoon intensified.

All the five deaths reported Monday were due to drowning.

A Red alert (very heavy rains) has been sounded in Kozhikode, Wayanad and Kannur districts till Tuesday.

In Kannur, 22-year-old Rithul drowned when he slipped and fell into a pond at Payyanuur, while two deaths were reported in Kozhikode and one from Kasargod.

In Thrissur, 19-year-old Vishnu drowned in a river while having a bath at Mukundapuram taluk.

With the South West Monsoon gaining strength in the state since July 18, 10 deaths have been reported so far, Kerala State Disaster Management sources said.

Since the monsoon hit Kerala on June 8 after a week's delay, 20 rain related deaths have been reported from the southern state, sources told PTI.

Two fishermen from Tamil Nadu, who had put out to sea from Needakara in Kollam, are still missing, while the body of one of their colleague was washed ashore on Sunday.

Two others in their boat had managed to swim to safety.

So far, 11 houses have been fully damaged and 102 partially in the state.

Twenty seven relief camps have been opened in the state, in which 348 persons have taken shelter.

A holiday has been declared for all educational institutions, including professional colleges, in Kasaragod, Kannur and Kozhikode till Tuesday.

The Met office said stong winds from the Westerly direction with speeds reaching 40-50 kmph was likely along and off the Kerala coast.

The sea condition would be rough to very rough, it said 

Fishermen have been advised not to venture into the sea.