more-in Four people, including a nine-year-old girl, were killed as the southwest monsoon hit the hilly regions in Kozhikode district of Kerala on Wednesday night and early hours of Thursday, leaving a trail of destruction. Incessant rain triggered landslips at many places, including Kakkayam, Pulluramppara, Kattippara, Karinchola and Chamal areas of the rural belts of the district. Unconfirmed reports said 13 people are missing from these regions and a search operation was on to trace them. Official sources said Dilna died in her house at Karinchola following a mudslip around 4 a.m. of Thursday. Roads were waterlogged and many places were inundated. Heavy rainfall battered the Thiruvambady region and few areas have been isolated. Over 250 houses have been partially damaged and 20 destroyed. The damage to crops is yet to be estimated. Relief camps The disaster management authority has swung into action to rescue stranded families and evacuate them to relief camps that were opened on Tuesday. A team of the National Disaster Response Force from Thrissur is engaged in the operations. Following the unabated rainfall, the levels of the Chaliyar, Iruvanjipuzha and Punoor rivers are continuing to rise. The Water Resources Department said the shutters of the Kakkayam and Peruvannamuzhi dams would be opened any time following heavy inflow and a warning has been issued to the people residing near the area. Control rooms are also functioning in all four taluks — Kozhikode, Vadakara, Koyilandy and Thamarassery. Traffic on highway hit Traffic on the Kozhikode-Mysore-Kollegal Highway was affected after a tree fell on the Thamarassery Ghat road. Vehicles have been diverted via the alternative Kuttiyadi road to reach Kozhikode. Similarly, traffic was disrupted after flooding at Nellamkandi near Koduvally. District Collector U.V. Jose declared holiday for all educational institutions in the district on Thursday. Schools in some of the grama panchayats in rural belts were shut on Wednesday.

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