Heavy rains lashed parts of south India on Friday, triggering a massive landslide in Kerala that killed at least 15 people, and caused water levels in many rivers in neighbouring Karnataka and Tamil Nadu to surge, prompting authorities to ask people to move to safer places.
In Maharashtra's Kohlapur, several people were evacuated from 23 villages as water levels in the Panchaganga river rose after water was discharged from the Radhanagari dam in the district following heavy rains in the catchment area.
Monsoon, however, remained subdued in the northern part of the country. While a few places in Uttar Pradesh received light to moderate rains, Haryana and Punjab witnessed sultry weather conditions.
In Kerala, at least 15 people were killed and around 50 are feared trapped under mud and debris as heavy rains flattened a settlement of tea estate workers in Idukki district's Pettimudi, police and officials said.
The incident took place in the early hours of Friday when a huge mound of earth fell on the "row houses", they said.
According to the officials, around 80-odd people lived in the settlement. Most of them are plantation workers from Tamil Nadu.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said 15 people have been rescued so far.
Teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) have been deployed for the rescue operations. The state government has also requested the Indian Air Force to provide a helicopter for the operations.
One person was killed in the state's Palakkad district as a house collapsed due to heavy rains, the officials said.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has sounded a red alert for Idukki on Friday, indicating extremely heavy rains - above 20 cms.
In the 24-hour period till 8.30 am on Friday, Peermade in Idukki had recorded 26.1 cm rainfall. Several other districts received more than 10 cm rainfall, it said.
A flood-like situation prevailed in several parts of Karnataka due to heavy rains, officials said.
Most rivers in Malnad, coastal and north interior regions of the state are swollen due to incessant rains in catchment areas, they said.
There were reports of landslips in hilly regions of Kodagu and Chikkamagaluru, they added.
There is a flood-like situation in the border regions of Belagavi district as water levels in the Krishna river and its tributaries have risen due to rains in ghat areas of Maharashtra and water being released from dams there, according to the officials.
Low-lying areas of the district have been submerged as it has also been receiving rains.
A similar situation prevailed in Uttara Kannada and Shivamogga districts.
Water is being released from several dams in the state, including Alamatti and Kabini as the inflow has increased.
The Tungabhadra dam in Hosapete has reached its capacity.
In Tamil Nadu, authorities issued a red alert for people living in and around Coimbatore district's Mettupalayam as 30,000 cusecs of surplus water was released into to Bhavani river from the Pillur dam, state officials said.
They said the step was taken as the water level in the dam, which has a maximum level of 100 feet, had crossed 97 feet after four days of rain and increased inflow of rainwater from Nilgiris and Coimbatore.
In Maharashtra's Kohlapur, authorities have shifted over 5,000 people from 23 villages to safer places after the water level in Panchaganga river rose due to water being released from the Radhanagari dam.
The level of the Panchganga at the Rajaram Weir (barrage) near Kolhapur city was 44.7 feet on Friday morning. The danger mark at the spot is 43 feet, officials said.
"At 3 pm the water level at Rajaram Weir was 44.10 feet and it dropped by an inch at 5 pm," a district disaster management cell official said.
However, due to the rains in the catchment areas of the Radhanagari dam on the Bhogavati river, its four gates were still open and excess water was being discharged, he said.
A total of 128 families from 23 flood-prone villages in Gadhinglaj, Panhala, Karveer, Gaganbavda, Chandgad tehsils and from Kolhapur city limits were shifted to safer places, another official said.
"Since Thursday a total of 5,561 people from 1,878 families from these villages have been shifted along with their livestock," he said.
Parts of Rajasthan received light to moderate rainfall on Friday, according to the meteorological department in Jaipur.
Jaisalmer, Bikaner, Phalodi, Jodhpur, Vanasthali, Jaipur and Bhilwara received 16 mm, 13 mm, 12.2 mm, 7.8 mm, 2 mm, 1.8 mm and 1 mm rainfall, respectively, between 8.30 am and 5.30 pm, it said.
The weather office has predicted light rains at isolated areas in the state during the next 24 hours.
In northern Uttar Pradesh, officials said, 706 villages across 17 districts have been affected by floods so far.
Sharda river at Palia Kalan (Lakhimpur Kheri), Rapti river at Bird Ghat (Gorakhpur) and Saryu-Ghagra at Elgin Bridge (Barabanki), Ayodhya and Turtipar (Ballia) are flowing above the danger level, they said.
Fifteen teams of the NDRF, seven of the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) personnel have been deployed in the affected districts, Relief Commissioner Sanjay Goyal said in a statement.
Besides, 749 boats have been deployed and 715 flood chowkis have been set up, he added.
Light to moderate rains occurred at a few places over Uttar Pradesh in the past 24 hours, the Meteorological Department in Lucknow said in a bulletin issued on Friday afternoon.
The weather department has forecast rain or thundershowers at a few places, and light thunderstorm and lighting at isolated places in the state over the next 24 hours.
Meanwhile, Haryana and Punjab witnessed above-normal maximum temperatures and sultry weather conditions, according to the Chandigarh meteorological department.
In Haryana, Hisar recorded a high of 38.3 degrees Celsius, three notches above normal.
Karnal recorded a high of 34.4 degrees Celsius, two notches above normal.
Patiala, in Punjab, recorded a maximum temperature of 35.1 degrees Celsius, two notches above normal.
Amritsar and Ludhiana also recorded above-normal maximum temperatures of 34.3 degrees Celsius and 34.5 degrees Celsius, respectively.
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