Heavy rains continued to lash parts of Kerala for the third consecutive day, leading to inundation and water-logging in many low-lying areas of the state. On Thursday morning, continuous rains for about an hour or so led to flooding in many low-lying areas in Ernakulam, Thrissur and Thiruvananthapuram districts of Kerala.
In Ernakulam, many people living in low-lying areas have been shifted out of their inundated homes. Visuals showed many people wading through knee-deep and waist-deep water. Kalamassery, Changampuzha Nagar, and Ernakulam south are the areas that have been worst affected due to rains and waterlogging.
According to IMD data as of 8.30 am on Thursday, Mavattupuzha in Ernakulam recorded 86.5 mm rainfall, Neeleswaram saw 138.5 mm, Neryamangalam recorded 83.5 m, North Paravur recorded 131.5 mm and Palluruthy 143.5 mm in the past 24 hours.
In Kochi city, heavy rainfall resulted in flooding on the arterial MG Road and at the KSRTC bus stand. Several low-lying areas including Udaya Colony near Kadavanthra, P&T Colony, and Changampuzha Nagar in Kalamassery were also flooded. The district administration has so far spent several crores under ‘Operation Breakthrough’ for preventing water logging but the city continues to suffer from flooding whenever heavy rains are experienced.
Many places in Tripunithura in Kochi have also been inundated and water has entered many homes in Tripunithura. There have been a lot of complaints by residents that the stormwater drains were not cleared in time to avoid waterlogging.
Water entered the homes of many residents but there are reports that people in Kalamassery refused to move out and relocate, as a mark of protest against the authorities. Many residents have complained that flooding has been a regular issue every monsoon, and authorities have not taken the steps necessary to prevent this.
However, many families agreed to move out of their homes and have been shifted to shelter homes located in Ernakulam, Thrissur, Pathanamthitta and Alappuzha districts. Visuals showed officials from the disaster relief forces evacuating people in boats.
Other districts in Kerala are also bracing for heavy rains as the India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Thursday issued an orange warning in 12 districts. The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has already deployed five teams to Kerala. A red warning indicates heavy to extremely heavy rainfall of over 20 cm in 24 hours, while an orange warning means very heavy rains from 6 cm to 20 cm of rain. A yellow warning means heavy rainfall between 6 to 11 cm.
The Kerala State Disaster Management Authority said cyclonic circulation over northern Tamil Nadu and adjoining areas would lead to isolated very heavy rainfall in several parts of the southern state.
Kerala has been experiencing heavy rainfall for the past few days and it has disrupted normal life in certain places of the state. Considering the heavy rains and to be better prepared for the early onset of monsoon in the state, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had a day ago issued a slew of directions to ensure that the authorities were prepared to handle problems like landslides and flooding.
Some of the instructions issued by the CM were — local bodies to prepare a list of disaster-prone areas in their jurisdictions and provide the same to the authorities concerned like police and fire services, ensure relief camps with adequate facilities are in place for evacuating people and desilting of gutters and rivers.
The State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA) has asked people to stay away from rivers and other water bodies until the rains subside. The SDMA has also asked people not to travel to hilly regions unless it's an emergency and to avoid night travel until the rain subsides.
The district administrations have also warned the people against staying near coastal areas of high tide. The IMD has earlier predicted that the Southwest monsoon, which is also known as Edavapathy in the state, is likely to bring its first showers to Kerala by May 27, five days earlier than the normal onset date.
With PTI inputs