Houses damaged, power disrupted as heavy rain pours misery in Kerala

Houses in low-lying areas of Kerala were flooded in heavy rain, while the accompanying strong winds uprooted trees, damaged homes and caused power disruptions, throwing normal life into disarray across the state.

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In Thrissur, Kannur and Kasaragod districts, there were reports of several homes getting flooded due to the heavy rain, forcing people to move to relief camps. Not just homes, but many roads in these districts and other parts of the state were also inundated.

In Pathanamthitta, Kottayam and Idukki districts, heavy rain and strong winds uprooted trees and damaged electricity poles and transformers, leading to partial and complete destruction of hundreds of homes and power disruptions for hours, according to the authorities.

It will be a holiday for educational institutions in Kottayam district on Saturday, district authorities said.

In Kollam, uprooted trees and falling branches, due to the rain and strong winds, caused damage to several homes and private vehicles in the district and a few persons were reportedly injured.

An 85-year-old woman, who worked as an MGNREGA worker in Ernakulam district, died when an uprooted tree fell on top of her while returning home on Thursday evening.

The Ernakulam district authorities also reported a rise in the water level of the Muvattupuzha River above the flood warning markers, leading to the opening of three shutters of the Malankara Dam by 20 centimetres (cm).

Train services were also affected with some, including the Mangaluru-Thiruvananthapuram Vande Bharat Expres, being diverted due to fallen trees on the tracks, while others were rescheduled or delayed due to the heavy rains, authorities said.

Amidst the widespread damage in the state due to the heavy rains and strong winds, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued a ‘red alert’ in Pathanamthitta, Alappuzha, Kottayam, Ernakulam, Idukki, Thrissur, Kannur and Kasaragod and an orange alert in the remaining six districts of the state for the day.

A red alert by IMD indicates heavy to extremely heavy rain of over 20 cm in 24 hours, while an ‘orange alert’ means very heavy rain of 11 cm to 20 cm, and a ‘yellow alert’ means heavy rainfall between 6 cm and 11 cm.

State Revenue Minister K Rajan said that the heavy rain caused widespread damage in the state and advised people to be cautious.

Speaking to reporters in Thrissur, Rajan further said that as the westerly winds are expected to continue over Kerala for the next five days and due to the possibility of widespread rainfall, caution should be exercised by everyone.

He advised the public to avoid unnecessary trips, especially to hilly areas and said that those living in dangerous places should move to safer locations or relief camps.

Rajan said there are 66 camps functioning in the state currently and 1,894 people are living there.

Around 4,000 camps are ready to be opened to accommodate about six lakh people. The public should not be averse to moving there, he added.

He also said that hundreds of homes in the state have been partially or completely destroyed due to the heavy rains and strong winds since the arrival of the monsoons.

The minister said according to the IMD there is a possibility of heavy rain in all districts of the state in the week from May 30 to June 5 and the amount of rainfall would be more than usual for this period.

In the second week of June also there will be rain in all districts of the state, but it will be less than normal for this period, the minister said.

The Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) said that there is a possibility of high waves ranging from 3 to 3.9 meters along the Kerala coast till 5.30 pm on Saturday and urged fishermen and coastal residents to be cautious and avoid launching of small boats, yachts or fishing vessels during this time.

Meanwhile, the state government said that it has sanctioned Rs 1 crore each to all District Collectors from the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) for carrying out monsoon preparedness activities.

Additionally, Rs two crore each has been sanctioned to the Thiruvananthapuram and Kozhikode District Disaster Management Authorities for undertaking flood mitigation works in the cities, the government said.

The government said that it has also sanctioned Rs one lakh to each panchayat, Rs 3 lakh to each municipality and Rs 5 lakh to each corporation in the state to buy necessary equipment and open storage centres as part of monsoon preparedness activities.