Heavy downpour, accompanied by strong gusts of wind and lightning, that lashed the district from Monday night caused widespread destruction and claimed one life.
A 74-year-old man died from electric shock after an electricity line fell on him at Nalanchira. Georgekutty John had gone out to buy milk at 6 a.m. when the accident occurred.
Heavy rain that refused to let up till late afternoon caused waterlogging in many areas, affecting traffic. Trees fell in front of the Corporation office, the KITTS campus at Thycaud where a tree fell on a car, and Adarsh Nagar at Thekkumoodu, and the Fire and Rescue Services had to cut and remove them. Water had to be pumped out of houses at Puthenpalam, near Kannammoola; NCC Nagar, Ambalamukku; and Paruthikuzhy.
In Thiruvananthapuram taluk, three camps were opened at Puthenpalam, Thaikootam, and Thekkumoodu in Pattom village after water entered houses. Camps have also been opened at Karimadom colony and Kalady in Manacaud village. In Vanchiyoor village, 150 people in the Puthenpalam area have been moved to a camp. Waterlogging was reported from many places, including Thiruvallam, and bunds demolished to avert any crisis, Thiruvananthapuram tahsildar Suresh Kumar said.
Directions have also been given to shift people out of their houses to safety in Thycaud, Jagathy, and Karakkad owing to rising water levels.
Residents of Veli goods yard colony in Kadakampally taluk were shifted out. The sandbar at Veli was cut open to allow water to flow.
Collector visits colony
District Collector K. Vasuki waded through nearly knee-high water on SS Kovil Road, Thampanoor, after the road got inundated, and interacted with traders. She visited houses in Karimadom Colony and Manacaud where water had entered houses. She also visited the NGO Quarters at Melarannoor where a tree fell. The Fire and Rescue Services cut the tree to resume traffic.
The Collector said emergency steps had been taken in the wake of the heavy rain. Round-the-clock control rooms had been opened in all taluks on Monday night, and officials deployed to oversee relief operations.
She warned people living on the banks of rivers to remain vigilant in the wake of rising water levels, and not to venture into the waters. Mayor V.K. Prasanth visited Kannammoola, where water entered houses of residents.
Tracks inundated
Railway tracks were inundated, leading to a delay in departure of trains. All three of the Neyyar dam shutters were opened by 3 ft, while that of Peppara by 80 cm. One shutter of the Aruvikkara dam was raised by 50 cm while two others were raised by 100 cm, the control room at the Collectorate said.
In Neyyattinkara taluk, 17 houses were damaged. Five families at Adimalathura were shifted to a relief camp.
In Chirayinkeezhu taluk, three houses in three villages were destroyed, while water had to be pumped out of three houses at Anchuthengu. One camp is functioning at Anchuthengu, and arrangements have been made to open another at Edakkod.
In Nedumangad taluk, 42 houses were damaged. Waterlogging was reported from many places, while a well sank in a house at Vembayam.
In Kattakada, 22 houses were damaged, 13 of them in Kallikad panchayat. The other affected places were Kulathummal, Perinkulam, Vilavoorkkal, Vilappil, and Kattakada. Many trees fell in Kallikad, and there was extensive crop damage.
In Varkala, houses of Vijayalakshmi at Navayikulam and that of Aboosa Beevi at Madavoor were destroyed.
V.S. Sivakumar, MLA, has sought the District Collectors’ intervention to resolve the woes of residents of Sree Chitra Home where one compound wall came down. The study rooms too were in a bad shape, and students were not able to venture out owing to waterlogging, he said. The Opposition BJP in the Corporation council expressed support for the relief measures taken by the Mayor but was unhappy about departmental coordination at the ward level.
