Two persons were killed in the heavy rain that lashed the western parts of the district, including Kollam city, for seven hours from 6 a.m. on Friday.
The deceased were identified as Haneefa Kunju (65) and Madhu (28).
Haneefa was killed when he slipped and fell down from the terrace of his house while trying to remove the block of a water outlet. Madhu was electrocuted as the rain water entered a welding workshop at Mylakkad where he was working. A couple at Thamarakulam was hospitalised after suffering injuries when their house partially caved in.
All low lying areas were inundated. In Kollam city, the Sankar Nagar Housing Colony, the adjoining Pullikada colony, the Attinkuzhy colony opposite the Kollam railway station, the Kuravanpalam area, the National Highway 47 between the city Corporation headquarters and the S.N. College junction, the campuses of various educational institutions, the Thoppilkadavu stretch of the highway, Sarpakuzhi near Tangasseri, Thirumullavaram, Maruthadi, the Depot Purayidam colony and Eravipuram were some of the worst-hit areas. In order to drain out the water from the Sankar Nagar and Pullikada colonies, the Asramam Link Road (under construction) had to be breached using an earth mover.
The district administration announced opening of a relief camp for the Pullikada colony residents on the Craven LMS High School campus. Relief camps have also been opened at the Kadappakada TKDM High School, Shakthikulangara, Pallithottam and Eravipuram. Three houses were damaged, two in Kollam taluk and one in Kottarakara.
As water began to enter houses, many felt getting electric shock in several areas. Power supply was disconnected when panic calls began to reach various KSEB offices. KSEB Deputy Chief Engineer (distribution-South) K. Radhakrishnan said three transformers under the Kadappakada section office, three under Pallimukku, five under Kilikollur and low tension lines in several areas were disconnected. A woman who had come to the RTO office at the Civil Station complex was hit by lightning and her right hand went numb for some time. She was rushed to a hospital.
In many places, feeder lines too got snapped as trees fell over them. Electric posts also got uprooted. The Disaster Management Cell of the KSEB in the district led by Assistant Engineer A. Shyam Kumar swung into action to assess the situation for restoring supply. In most of the affected areas, supply was restored by evening.
Residents of Attinkuzhi colony blocked the National Highway in the afternoon registering protest against the delay on the part of the authorities to make arrangements for water pumps to pump out the water from the colony. Traffic through that course of the highway had to be diverted for about two hours because of the blockade.
Apart from the district-level control room, the district administration opened control rooms at all taluks. The KSEB also opened a control room.
