Fifteen people are confirmed dead and seven remain missing after torrential monsoon rains triggered landslides and flash floods across Kerala, Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan said Monday. The death toll rose from 11 on Sunday and 8 on Saturday, according to the CM's morning press conference. Malappuram district recorded the highest toll at four deaths, followed by Kottayam with three. A total of 11,018 people are sheltered in 316 relief camps as of 9:00 AM Monday, up from 7,674 people in 273 camps Sunday evening.
The India Meteorological Department has reinstated an orange alert for 12 Kerala districts as of 1:00 PM Monday, forecasting very heavy rainfall of 115.6 to 204.4 mm over the next 24 hours. Pathanamthitta district remains the worst-affected area; floodwaters are receding in the upper Ranni region but the crisis has shifted downstream to low-lying Aranmula and Upper Kuttanad. Schools are closed in 12 districts.
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CM Satheesan chaired a high-level emergency review Monday morning and announced a compensation package: ₹8 lakh ex gratia for families of the deceased, ₹12 lakh for those who lost homes to landslides, and ₹6 lakh for house reconstruction. He said the IMD's rainfall intensity "surprised even meteorologists," attributing early rescue delays to late forecasts. A KSDMA rain gauge recorded 361 mm of rainfall at Vadasserikkara, Pathanamthitta, in 24 hours — a reading the IMD has not officially classified as a cloudburst.
The CPI(M) state secretariat has accused the ruling UDF government of lapses in evacuating vulnerable residents. Rajya Sabha MP A.A. Rahim criticized Satheesan for attending a Youth League event in Ponnani "while thousands were suffering." Satheesan rejected the criticism as "misinformation" and warned of legal action against those spreading false claims about dam releases. Health Minister K. Muraleedharan accused the opposition of seeking "political mileage." Separately, a landslide in Indiranagar, Shivamogga district, Karnataka, killed a couple and their 3-year-old child Saturday, as coastal Dakshina Kannada was also battered by landslides and swelling rivers.
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Rain is forecast to continue through August 8, with Sabarimala pilgrims cautioned against travel to affected hill routes. Recovery operations have begun in areas where floodwaters have receded, even as downstream districts brace for rising river levels. The Pamba, Achankovil and Manimala rivers remain the primary flashpoints as Kerala's monsoon crisis enters its fourth day.
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