Monsoon fury unabated in Kerala

Northern districts and hilly areas affected most; weather office warns of heavy rain till July 15

Angry waves barrel their way into the breakwater structure at Vizhinjam fishing harbour in the vicinity of the project site for the multi-thousand crore Adani Vizhinjam International Transshipment Terminal near Thiruvananthapuram. Revival of monsoon has churned up the Arabian Sea all along the West Coast from Thiruvananthapuram to Surat in South Gujarat.

The monsoon continued to unleash its fury on large parts of the State on Wednesday as incessant rain left rivers in spate, triggered floods and landslips, slowed down traffic to a crawl and affected normal life.

At Perinthalmanna in Malappuram, Mohammed Shamil, a two-year-old child, drowned in flood waters, taking the toll in the current spell of rain to two. A 14-year-old boy, Feroz, was earlier reported dead in Kannur after he was bogged down in a swamp while trying to rescue two others.

Fish worker missing

A fish worker was reported missing after the boat in which he was travelling capsized in the rough sea off the coast of Anchuthengu in Thiruvananthapuram on Wednesday. Six others in the same boat swam to safety, officials said.

With heavy rain pounding Wayanad district for the third consecutive day, vast tracts of land have been inundated and houses flooded. As many as 1,018 people belonging to 225 families have been shifted to 25 relief camps across the district. All rivers are in spate. The Kabani river is overflowing its banks even after more shutters of the Beechanahalli dam across the border in Karnataka were opened to let out excess water.

The Attappady tribal belt in Palakkad was cut off from the rest of the State after heavy rain triggered landslips and heavy flooding along the connecting roads. Traffic on the Mannarkkad-Coimbatore highway was halted following a series of landslips and fallen trees in the ghat section.

The hilly areas in the State bore the brunt of the monsoon fury.

A landslip at Ilappally in Idukki caused damage to rubber plantations on slopes across four acres.

No one was injured in the incident. People living downstream of the Kallarkutty, Lower Periyar and Malankara dams were alerted as the authorities prepared to open the shutters following torrential rain in the catchment areas. Heavy rains caused widespread havoc in Kozhikode district also.

The administration issued a warning for residents in coastal areas and those living on the banks of the Chaliyar, Kuttiyadi and Iravazhinji rivers and in hilly areas.

Two relief camps are functioning in Kottayam district and one each in Palakkad and Kollam disricts.

Heavy rain till July 15

The weather office has forecast heavy to very heavy rainfall at a few places in Kerala till July 15.

Fishermen are advised not to venture into the sea over the Southwest, Central and North Arabian sea due to strong winds and high waves.

According to the season’s rainfall data issued by the Met Centre here, Kerala as a whole, received 986.1 mm of rainfall from June 1 to July 11 against a normal of 942.7 mm.

Palakkad registered an excess rainfall of 32% during the period and Kottayam 21%. All except one of the remaining districts recorded normal rainfall. Thrissur remained the only district to register a seasonal deficit of 20%.