Tree falls were widely reported in most fire and rescue stations in the district on a day when a giant tree tragically crushed five schools students to death at Nellimattom near Kothamangalam.
Hardly 30 minutes after the fire and rescue personnel from the Kothamangalam fire station returned from the accident site, they received another call of a tree fall only a few metres away from the accident spot.
Heavy rains packing strong winds kept the under-staffed fire and rescue department across the district on tenterhooks right through Friday.
A fully grown tree fell across TD Road under the Club Road station limits on Friday at around 6.30 a.m. It took almost three hours to clear the road and restore traffic.
Another tree fall was reported from the Church Landing Road in the afternoon.
Firemen from Gandhinagar station were called up after a tree within a household in front of the office of SIDCO fell on to the road disrupting traffic and uprooting many electric posts in the process. While another tree fall was reported from near the Kendriya Vidyalaya, a huge tree branch fell on the Kaloor-Kadavanthra Road.
Traffic through Arayankkavu Road under Tripunithura fire station limits was badly affected for almost two hours following a tree fall.
Fire and rescue personnel from the Pattimattom fire station perhaps had the most hectic day as they had to attend to multiple tree falls.
Fall of rubber trees, teak, and mango trees kept them on their toes for the best part of the day.
A house was damaged near Pazhamthottam after a tree fell atop it while leading fireman K.P. Subramanian was admitted to hospital with cuts sustained while using chainsaws to clear trees.
Firemen from the Mattancherry fire station rushed to a spot near the BOT Bridge on the Thoppumpady-Kundannoor road late in the night on receiving a call of a tree fall disrupting traffic.
Heavy rains packing strong winds kept
the under-staffed Fire and Rescue Services Department across
the district on tenterhooks.
