Landslides claim nine lives in Kerala, Kochi airport temporarily closed

KOCHI: Nine persons died and several others were reported missing as a string of landslides triggered by heavy downpour battered the high range Idukki and adjoining districts of Kerala on Monday.

The Cochin International Airport has been temporarily closed and two flights diverted as the runway got waterlogged. Periyar river and canals are overflowing after the downpour lashed the area since Sunday.

The deceased included two children and two women as their houses on the slopes of the hills in Idukki district were swept away by flash floods, police said.

Strong quake in Indonesia's Aceh province, kills 22

The magnitude-6.1 quake struck yesterday afternoon at a depth of just 10 kilometers and was centered on the far western tip of Sumatra island in Aceh province.Soldiers, police and volunteers fanned out across an earthquake-damaged region of western Indonesia today, scouring the debris of fallen homes and landslides for possible victims of a temblor that killed at least 22 people and injured hundreds.

The magnitude-6.1 quake struck yesterday afternoon at a depth of just 10 kilometers and was centered on the far western tip of Sumatra island in Aceh province.