The contentious Mullaperiyar Dam issue between Kerala and Tamil Nadu, which is now before the Supreme Court following heavy rains over the past week, is likely to trigger fresh tension between the two states.

Unceasing heavy rains battered Kerala on Wednesday killing eight more people and taking the death toll to 47 since August 8, forcing Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan to seek generous public contributions to battle the worst floods in nearly a century.

Heavy rains again hit Kerala on Wednesday killing four more people and taking the death toll to 43 since August 8.

With increased water flow into the Idamalayar and Idukki dams in Kerala late Tuesday night due to incessant rains, authorities began to evacuate about 5,000 persons living in and around the two reservoirs, a police official said.

For a second successive day, heavy rains lashed Kerala's Kozhikode, Malappuram and Wayanad districts on Tuesday, triggering fresh landslides and adding to the woes of a state battling the worst flooding in 94 years.

An elephant had a narrow escape when it was saved from being swept away by temporarily lowering the sluice gates of the Peringalkuthu Dam in flood-ravaged Kerala. Dam officials, forest rangers and tribals came together to help the animal, caught on a rock near the dam shutters on Chalakudy river that has been overflowing because of heavy rains and vast discharge of water from the dam.

Landslides caused by rains in northern districts of Kerala like Malappuram and Kozhikode on Monday gave some anxious moments, but there was no loss of life or property since these occurred in uninhabited areas.

District Officials on Monday saved a wild elephant from being swept away by temporarily lowering the floodgates of the Peringalkuthu dam. Dam officials, forest rangers and tribals came together to help the animal, caught on a rock near the dam shutters on the Chalakudy river that has been overflowing near the Vazhichal forest range.

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday described the situation in the flood-affected areas of Kerala as "very serious" and assured the state of all possible help from the Centre.

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday described the situation in the flood-affected areas of Kerala as "very serious" and assured the state of all possible help from the Centre.