Five houses damaged as rain batters district

Flooded streets lead to traffic snarls

July 09, 2018 10:51 pm | Updated 10:51 pm IST - KOCHI

Continuous rain caused water-logging at many places in Kochi on Monday. A scene from MG Road.

Continuous rain caused water-logging at many places in Kochi on Monday. A scene from MG Road.

Near-incessant rain on Monday affected normal life in the district with traffic hold-ups in the city and damage to houses in other parts of the district.

Sources in the district Disaster Management Authority said that Ernakulam had received 20.39 mm of rain over the past 24 hours on an average. The Met department said that the Kochi airport had recorded 33.8 mm of rain.

The department has also forecast more rain in the district in the coming days. Heavy spells of rain in isolated places have been forecast for Tuesday, with the intensity expected to come down over the following three days.

Rain seriously affected the traffic in many parts of Kochi with roads being submerged under water in places such as Karshaka Road and the South Railway Station. There was traffic congestion on the Vyttila-Palarivattam road. The railway overbridge at Ponnurunni saw traffic hold-ups for most part of the day. The Thykkoodam-Vyttila stretch of the national highway also witnessed traffic snarls with a motorist claiming that it had taken him almost an hour to cover the distance during the peak hour in the morning.

Disaster Management Authority sources said that there had been no loss of life or injuries to people reported in rain-related incidents over the past 24 hours. Traffic was disrupted at Chathiath, near Pooyamkutty in the district, on account of the heavy rain. Five houses were partly damaged in Kothamangalam taluk, sources said.

Reports from Chellanam, usually hit by swelling sea conditions, said that normal life had not been affected owing to the rain. Cleaning up of the storm water drains and natural canals ahead of the rains had helped keep floods under control. No serious incidents of sea erosion have been reported from the coastal panchayat.

Strong winds forecast

The Met department has forecast strong winds from the westerly direction, with speed reaching 35-45 kmph, gusting to 60 kmph, along and off the Kerala coast and over Lakshadweep. Sea conditions will be rough to very rough over southwest, central and north Arabian Sea, the forecast said. The department also advised fishermen not to venture into the sea.

Data from the department also showed that the rainfall deviation until now this year was 1.71 per cent with the district having received a rainfall of 931.80 mm against the normal level of 916.2 mm between June 1 and July 9.

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