Three people, including two children, died in Kerala on Tuesday as heavy rainfall lashed the state, Onmanorama reported.

The children died after their house collapsed in Malappuram district at 5 am. They were sleeping when the incident occurred. In Kollam district, a labourer drowned in a stream due to rise in water levels.

Pallakad and Thrissur districts were also hit by the rain. Revenue Minister K Rajan said the government has shifted 622 persons to 27 relief camps in various parts of the state.

“Six teams of the National Disaster Response Force are stationed in Kerala and the defence services are on standby,” the minister added.

The India Meteorological Department has issued an orange alert for nine out of the 14 districts on Tuesday and Wednesday. An orange alert indicates that authorities should be prepared to take action in case of “heavy to very heavy” rainfall.

The districts under orange alert are Ernakulam, Idukki, Thrissur, Palakkad, Malappuram, Kozhikode, Wayanad, Kannur, and Kasaragode.

The weather department attributed the heavy rainfall to cyclonic circulations in the Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal.

“Another [reason] is the presence of an eastwestern trough line that is connecting both the cyclonic circulation,” India Meteorological Department Thiruvananthapuram Director K Santhosh told The News Minute. “This is over the central to northern region of Kerala, and that also accounts for the heavy rains.”

The rainfall led to flooding and waterlogging in several parts of the state. Movement of vehicles was also affected.

Meanwhile, the district administration in Idukki banned travel during 7 pm to 6 am till Thursday due of the possibility of landslides. Officials involved in Covid-19 relief work and other emergency services are exempted from the ban.