Even as rain eased briefly during the day on Monday (August 3, 2026), the respite proved deceptive in Kottayam. Overnight downpours unleashed fresh flooding along the downstream stretches of the Meenachil river and across the low-lying upper Kuttanad region, inundating hundreds of homes and forcing residents to flee to relief camps.

The worst of the devastation was witnessed in the low-lying pockets of Kottayam district, where overflowing rivers submerged vast swathes of Kottayam, Vaikom and Changanassery taluks. Residents said floodwaters had risen higher than during the catastrophic 2018 deluge. Thiruvarppu panchayat was almost entirely submerged, while more than half of Ayamanam and the eastern parts of Kumarakom panchayat also went under water.

Parts of Manarcad, Vijayapuram, Udayanapuram and Vechoor panchayats, along with several areas in Vaikom municipality, were also reeling under floodwaters after rivers spilled over their banks.

In Thiruvarppu panchayat alone, residents from Chengalam, Kiliroor, Kummanam, Kanjiram and Malarikkal were shifted to relief camps after water engulfed their homes. Floodwaters also entered several houses in the Thamarassery Colony near Kanjiram Bridge, while the Kareemadam area in Kumarakom remained completely submerged.

Traffic disrupted

The Meenachil river breaching its banks also disrupted traffic along several stretches of the Kottayam–Kumarakom Road, including Illikkal, Ampakuzhy, Chengalam and Moonnumoola. While buses continued to ply, the movement of smaller vehicles was severely restricted.

The Meenachil, Muvattupuzha, Kodoor and Manimala rivers remained in full spate, breaching their banks at multiple locations and inundating hundreds of houses and vast stretches of farmland. Torrential run-off from the eastern high ranges surged through interconnected canals and backwaters, pushing water levels beyond danger marks in several places. Interior roads disappeared under water, which left many villages virtually cut off and crippling road traffic.

Cloudburst-like event

Experts attributed the unprecedented flooding to an intense cloudburst-like event over the Vagamon hills on Friday night and the early hours of Saturday. According to them, the eastern high-range areas received an average of 20 cm of rain on Friday night, with rainfall ranging from 17 cm to 31 cm in different locations. This pushed water levels higher than those witnessed in 2018, causing unprecedented flooding in Erattupetta and Pala towns. Incessant rain on Sunday night, with an average of 12 cm rainfall, added more water to the river and aggravated the flood situation, they said.

As many as 3,714 people have been accommodated in 114 relief camps across the district.

With floodwaters yet to recede from the riverbanks, officials and experts warned that any further heavy rain could push Kottayam into an even more dangerous phase of the flood crisis.

Published - August 03, 2026 08:07 pm IST