Kottayam: After a delay of almost seven days, Southwest Monsoon on Wednesday finally hit Kerala, marking the official commencement of rainy season in the country, as heavy showers in the southern state left one person dead.
A landslide following heavy rain claimed a life at Vazhavara, Idukki, on Wednesday.
Joby Johny, 31, former district secretary of the Students Federation of India, Idukki district committee, died when a huge rock and mud fell over his house and destroyed it around 5.30 a.m.
He was currently the Kattapana block committee member of the DYFI. Joby, who was sleeping in the house, died on the spot, said the police.
The house made of tin sheet and brick is situated at the bottom of a hilly slope at Vazhavara on the way to the Idukki reservoir, at least 12 km from Kattapana. His body was retrieved by the police after removing the rock.
His mother, Philomina, who was seriously injured was rushed to the Specialist Hospital, Ernakulam. Her condition is critical, sources said. Johny, father of Joby, escaped unhurt.
Joby’s post-mortem was held at the Kattapana taluk hospital and the funeral was held at the St Mary’s Church, Vazhavara.
The IMD in its initial forecast had said that monsoon will hit Kerala on June 7. It had yesterday said that onset of monsoon will be by June 9. The usual date for onset of monsoon is June 1.
The season is also expected to witness “above normal” rainfall after two consecutive seasons of weak monsoon. In 2015, the monsoon deficiency was 14 per cent with Northwest India recording a deficiency of 17 per cent, followed by 16 per cent in Central India, 15 per cent in Southern Peninsula and 8 per cent in East and North-east India.
