Heavy rain continued to pound most parts of Ernakulam district on Tuesday. The rain started in the early hours of Tuesday after a brief lull on Monday. According to official data, Aluva, Nedumbassery and Perumbavoor received the highest amount of rain though no flooding has been reported from any parts of the district. Crop damage reports are coming in, especially from the eastern fringes of the district at Paingottoor near Kothamangalam, where heavy winds felled hundreds of banana plants.
Perumbavoor received 71 mm of rain while Aluva received 50 mm of rain and Cochin International Airport area in Nedumbassery received nearly 51 mm of rain. According to weather reports, Keerampara in the east of the district recorded the highest volume of rain (126 mm) up to 8 a.m. on Tuesday for a 24-hour period. There are other areas with high intensity rain like Muvattupuzha, which saw 76.5 mm of rain in 24 hours. Neeleswaram, close to Kalady, received 70.5 mm of rain and North Paravur saw relatively less rainfall at 28 mm.
The city areas of Kochi, which usually goes under water with heavy rain, has not seen any serious flooding so far. The Ernakulam South area received 10.6 mm of rain while Kochi saw about 13.6 mm of rain.
The National Disaster Management Authority has dispatched a 22-member team to camp in Ernakulam to meet any emergency. The team met District Collector Jaffar Malik and also visited the flood-prone Puthenvelikkara area on Tuesday.
The coastal segment between Chellanam in the south and Fort Kochi in the north has been relatively peaceful. The sea is calm and there appears to be no immediate threat, said V.T. Sebastian, a resident of the coastal village.
Meanwhile, a report from the district authorities said the chances of flooding in the Periyar basin receded by afternoon on Tuesday. The level of the river was 1.35 m at the Marthanda Varma bridge while the flood warning level was 2.50 m. There is a falling trend in water level. At Mangalapuzha, the level was 1.220 m while the warning level was 3.30 m. In Kalady, it was 2.515 m while the flood warning level is 5.50 m and the water level has been steady. The water level in Muvattupuzha river was above the flood warning level but the level showed a falling trend at different stations.
The NDRF unit is camping at the Kakkanad Youth Hostel. The team is led by field commander Ram Babu and sub inspector Pramod.
