A combination of heavy rains and the rough sea has threatened normal life on the Alappuzha coast, causing damage to several houses and displacing a few families on Tuesday night.
According to officials, the heavy rains were followed by rough waves gnawing away parts of the beach at several places along the coast and uprooting trees, particularly in the Thumboli, Mararikulam and Purakad areas. At Thumboli, six houses were damaged, a couple of them left in a precarious condition with the sea literally sweeping away the ground from beneath.
Six families were evacuated to a temporary relief camp set up at Thumboli, officials said, while control rooms had been opened in Revenue offices along the coast. A Central Control Room was monitoring the situation from the District Collectorate as well.
In Purakad, sea water entered a few houses while in Mararikulam, several trees were uprooted along the coastal area. District Collector P. Venugopal said the district machinery was watching the situation round the clock and that arrangements were in place in case the conditions worsened.
The impact of the rough sea was felt more in areas with gaps in the sea wall, the completion of which has been lagging behind schedule by several years.
