Thiruvananthapuram, Aug 6 (DHNS): Rain pounding the central districts of Kerala since late Sunday has increased the water levels in many rivers, with the resulting floods submerging many areas, including the Nedumbassery airport in Ernakulam district.

Rain has also killed at least 16 people, including 13 in Idukki district, in the state.

Authorities have suspended airport operations till Tuesday afternoon. More than 10 flights, including two international flights, have been cancelled. Flights have also been diverted to Chennai, Coimbatore, Kozhikode and Thiruvananthapuram. The affected carriers are Air India and SpiceJet.

With the Idamalayar dam sluice gates open, the Periyar river is in spate, leading to inundation of some areas in Ernakulam, including Aluva, Perumbavoor and Kothamangalam.

Many areas in Idukki remained isolated on Monday and many areas, including Vandiperiyar and Thodupuzha, have been inundated.

In Cheeyappara, between Neryamangalam and Adimaly, five people were killed and several injured as land slipped over a line of vehicles stuck on a 100-metre stretch of road. Three of the deceased have been identified as Rajan, a driver at the Devikulam taluk office, Joshi and Jibin.

The landslip occurred when efforts were underway to clear rubble from the road. Reports said more people could be stuck in vehicles that slipped into a gorge and are caught under the rubble. Continuous rainfall has hit rescue efforts in the area.

Two persons were killed in flash floods in the Ernakulam district. In Thalassery, a six-year-old boy was reported dead after coming in contact with a livewire. At least eight people have been reported missing in Idukki and other districts, including four fishermen in Ernakulam and Kayamkulam.

Four teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), with 40 members each, are in the state to carry out rescue efforts. Chief Minister Oommen Chandy asked tourists to keep away from hill stations in Idukki until the situation in the district returned to normal.

In the last 24 hours, Idukki has recorded very heavy rainfall (22 cm), and with more rain predicted, relief work is set to take a hit.

Control rooms are open in Idukki and relief camps are being set up with the co-ordination of the police, health and revenue departments. However, limited access to some of the inundated areas is hampering relief work in the district.

Continuous rains and bad road conditions have also hit traffic to Munnar.

Sluice gates of dams, including the ones in Neyyar, Idamalayar, Maniyar and Moozhiyar, have been opened, triggering worries for people living in nearby areas. The water level in Mullaperiyar has touched 133.5 feet, and Tamil Nadu has been requested to take more water from the reservoir to keep the levels in check. Control rooms are open in  vulnerable pockets in the area.

With the rain submerging the Shiva temple premises in Aluva near Ernakulam under water, the annual bali ritual on Tuesday would be affected. Makeshift sheds set up for the ritual and some of the shops around the temple have been swept away.

In Aranmula, damages have been reported to the Parthasarathy temple.