Kerala rains: IMD issues red alert for eight districts on August 4

A view of the swollen Bharathapuzha river from Shoranur on Tuesday. | SHORANUR Though rain eased in Kerala’s Malappuram and Palakkad districts on Tuesday (August 4, 2026), authorities continued precautionary measures as the threat of rain-related disasters persisted.The Public Works Department (PWD) closed the Vengara-Malappuram road at Edayipalath, near Panakkad, after a mudslide on Monday. Traffic along this road has been diverted.A holiday for educational institutions on Tuesday had been declared in both districts.Though water levels in the Bharathapuzha, Kadalundipuzha, Chaliyar and Kunthipuzha rivers began to recede, authorities have urged people living in hilly areas and along riverbanks to remain vigilant. People have been warned against venturing into waterbodies.Relief campsIn Malappuram, 13 relief camps were opened in Eranad, Kondotty, Nilambur, Tirurangadi and Ponnani taluks. As many as 441 people from 97 families, including 148 men, 199 women and 94 children, are being sheltered in the camps. An aerial view of the hill where a portion collapsed on Monday, triggering a mudslide at Edayipalath on the Vengara-Malappuram road near Panakkad. | DUHSS, Panakkad, is sheltering 103 evacuees. Five camps in Eranad accommodated 210 people and four in Tirurangadi 104. The remaining camps are in Kondotty, Nilambur and Ponnani.In Palakkad, the death toll in the Thennilapuram electrocution incident rose to two with the death of Radhika, 36, wife of Radhakrishnan of Vadakkethara, at the Government District Hospital, Palakkad, on Tuesday morning. Her mother-in-law, Sharada, had died on Saturday.Sharada was electrocuted while hanging clothes on an iron-wire clothesline fixed to an iron pole. Radhika suffered critical injuries while trying to rescue her.Preliminary findings indicated that a temporary power connection for construction work had developed an electrical leak, energising an iron pole and a clothesline. The police said they were investigating whether electrical safety violations contributed to the accident. Published - August 04, 2026 01:23 pm IST