The intensifying northeast monsoon claimed its first life in Kerala’s mountainous Idukki district on Sunday (October 19, 2025), as intense overnight rain inundated roads and homes, swept away parked vehicles, and triggered mudslides. Traffic came to a halt while powerlines and mobile phone networks were also hit.

The intense rain also wreaked havoc in Tamil Nadu’s Theni district bordering Idukki, with traffic being affected on the district’s Kumali inter-State ghat road due to a mudslide.

With water being released from the Mullaperiyar reservoir into the Periyar river since Saturday, villages along the river in Kerala reported flooding. At 7 p.m. on Sunday, the water level in the dam stood at 139.15 ft. The inflow into the dam was around 9,521 cusecs and outflow was around 8,551 cusecs,

See Full Page