Heavy rain packed with strong winds that lashed the district on Thursday evening inflicted all-round destruction, besides injuring three, including a 15-year-old, who got trapped under uprooted trees.
Fallen trees and hoardings and trusswork blown away by the wind disrupted traffic and power supply, reducing most parts of the district to pitch darkness well into the night, leaving KSEB employees to work late into the night to restore supply. Farmers also suffered considerable damage.
District Collector S. Suhas directed village officers to estimate the extent of damage. The Deputy Collector (Disaster Management) has been entrusted with supervising the preparation of estimates.
The fire and rescue services station on Club Road in the city received not less than 13 distress calls, mostly caused by uprooted trees. It took firefighters more than an hour to remove the huge shade tree near the Children’s Park that fell onto the road disrupting traffic. A huge tree on the General Hospital campus fell on a parked car smashing its windscreen though, fortunately, none was inside.
Two residents of Madura sustained injuries after they got trapped under a fallen tree near Kaloor bus stand, while a teenager met with a similar fate near Ambedkar stadium.
Firefighters could not remove a huge tree that fell on the road near Ravipuram, as they did not have the chainsaw adequate enough for the task.
Vaduthala, Vennala, Kadavanthra, Vyttila, Palarivattom, Kaloor, Thevara, Pachalam, and Karikkamuri were among the worst affected areas in the city. Aluva and nearby areas, including the Aluva Palace, Aluva-Munnar Road, Choornikkara, Edathala, and Keezhmadu, also reported widespread damage. The makeshift pandal erected along the Manappuram also sustained damage. Two houses were partially destroyed in Kothamangalam.
KSEB reported widespread damage to electric posts and supply lines across the district, mostly by uprooted trees. “We are in the process of restoring supply,” said KSEB control room sources.
Train services were also hit, with the New Delhi-bound Kerala Express getting halted at Thripunithura for nearly an hour after a tree fell on the track. Roof sheets of the North railway station were blown away in the wind.
