Heavy rain triggered by the depression in the Arabian sea, lashed northern Kerala on Thursday causing damage to property and death of a person in Malappuram.
The rain in the region was the heaviest of its kind in the State in peak summer and would continue till Saturday, Meteorological department sources said.
Kannur received 87.8 mm rainfall on Thursday till 2.30 p.m. The rain here was heavy in the forenoon, leaving several low-lying areas inundated and affecting several parts of the district, especially in the Kannur town. Several parts of this town, especially the Thavakkara Road, Muneeshwaran Kovil area, and S.N. Park area were flooded for hours. The heavy showers also worsened the condition of roads recently dug for laying the new water distribution pipeline. Low-lying parts of Thalassery were also affected by flooding caused by heavy raining.
Trees were uprooted in some areas disrupting road traffic for some time. At Alavil near here, a tree fell on the road on Wednesday night. It took nearly two hours to remove it.
The Agriculture Department here estimated crop damage caused by heavy summer showers and strong winds over the past one week at Rs.20.77 crore. According to the department’s estimates, the standing crops that took most of the brunt from the torrential rain and winds were plantains, rubber trees, and coconut palms. As many as 162 houses were damaged partially while three houses were completely destroyed, an official press release here on Thursday said.
Two people were killed by lightning in the district. The showers also damaged a bridge and 27 roads, the release said.
KasaragodIn Kasaragod, the rain got stronger by Thursday morning and continued all through the day hitting traffic and movement of the public. It also hampered the ongoing road reconstruction works between Melparamba and Uduma.
In Wayanad, the rain for the past three days caused extensive damages to crops and properties. Thousands of banana plantains, ginger plantations and paddy crops have been destroyed in the rain.
District Collector Kesavendrakumar said 36 villages under Vythiri, Mananthavadi and Sulthan Bathery taluks were the worst affected. He instructed the village officers and tahsildars to remain prepared.
District administration has estimated the rain-related loss at Rs.10,15,98,496 since January 1.
Various crops cultivated on 500 hectors have been destroyed.
As many as 12 houses destroyed and 767 houses suffered partial damages. The damages to property has been estimated at Rs.68, 95, 621.
The district experienced an average rain fall of 13.67 mm on Thursday, according to the rain fall data of the Regional Agriculture Research Station at Ambalavayal. Control rooms have been opened in each taluk head quarter and collectorate here to meet any emergency. Contact numbers are Collectorate-04936-202251; Sulthan Bathery Taluk office-04936-220926;Vythiri-05936-255229 ;and Mananthavadi taluk office-04935-240231.
Continuous rain also battered Malappuram on Thursday bringing about damage to several houses along the coast and leading to the death of a person at Perinthalmanna.
MalappuramYakoob, 45, from Poopalam near Perinthalmanna, was killed when a tree fell on him in the heavy rain. A large number of trees across the district were uprooted in the rain and wind.
A few houses at Puthuponnani were damaged as angry waves battered the coast. Many are facing the threat of sea erosion.
District officials said that they were equipped to deal with any emergency. A few families along the coast were evacuated in view of sea erosion.
The rain caused considerable loss to agricultural crops across the district. Government officials said that it was early to assess the damage.
The emergency measures taken up to counter the summer crunch were stopped with continuous rains pouring down in the last three days.
District Collector K. Biju alerted the people living along the coast and on the banks of the rivers in the district to be vigilant against floods. He asked the people not to let children play in the rivers. He also alerted fishermen against going fishing.
He said that any emergency or incident should be alerted at the Disaster Management Cell functioning at the Collectorate.
The Collectorate control room can be reached at 0483- 2736320. The control room at Ponnani can be reached at 0494- 2666038, Tirur at 0494- 2422238, Tirurangadi at 0494- 2461055, Nilambur at 04931- 221471, Perinthalmanna at 04933- 227230, and Eranad at 0483- 2766121.
The rain kept people largely indoors indirectly aiding the hartal called by the Mullapperiyar Samara Samithi in protest against the Supreme Court order on the Mullapperiyar dam that otherwise made little impact.
