Torrential rain unleashes landslips, floods across Kottayam, Pathanamthitta
Torrential rains in Kerala's Kottayam and Pathanamthitta districts have triggered landslips and flash floods, resulting in at least one death and multiple missing persons. Infrastructure, including houses and bridges, has been destroyed, prompting authorities to issue high alerts for the region.
Why it matters
The disaster underscores the increasing vulnerability of high-range regions in India to extreme weather events, necessitating improved disaster management and infrastructure resilience.
The eastern high ranges of Kottayam and Pathanamthitta districts, battered by torrential rain since Friday (July 31, 2026) evening, have been ravaged by a series of landslips and flash floods, leaving one person dead, two others missing, and causing widespread damage to houses, roads and crops.
The deceased has been identified as Josephin Johny Manappatt, a resident of Payanithodu in Poonjar. According to rescue officials, a massive landslip struck his house, located at the foot of a hill and buried it under debris. His mother, Rejeena Johny, remains missing and search operations are under way.
Another person, identified as Prabhakaran Nair, a native of Vaikom, has also gone missing after a landslip hit the house of Leelamani at Kolahalamedu near Vagamon.
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