Heavy rains disrupt normal life in Kerala

Thiruvananthapuram: Continuing heavy rains threw normal life out of gear in Kerala on Tuesday, with trains running late, low-lying areas inundated and traffic snarls created in towns and villages.

The falling of uprooted trees on railway tracks has caused great concern in northern districts since last night.

An electric line fell upon the track in the Kozhikode-Areekode route following the uprooting of a huge tree, authorities said.

It took a few hours for the authorities to clear the track and restore the normal train traffic on the route.

According to railway sources, many trains, including Thiruvananthapuram bound Vande Bharat and Parasuram Express, were running late.

Water levels in rivers have been steadily increasing, and a large number of houses located in low-lying areas were flooded in the northern Wayanad district, where there has been no respite from heavy rains for the last several days.

In many inundated areas, it could be seen that people were using fibre boats to reach safer places.

Hundreds of people, including those from isolated tribal hamlets, were shifted to relief camps, authorities said.

Reports of destruction of houses and loss of agricultural crops came from the high ranges of Ernakulam district, especially from the Kothamangalam area.

Huge boulders which fell onto the roads from the hills disrupted traffic for some time in highrange Kallar near Thiruvananthapuram.

The rain situation in the northern district of Kannur was not different, as incidents of mudslides and inundation of low-lying areas were reported from there too.

Meanwhile, Revenue Minister K Rajan told reporters here that as many as 607 houses have been destroyed across the state due to intense rains.

Of them, 21 houses were destroyed completely, he said.

The disruption of power supply for houses triggered people's protests in many places.

As shown by TV channels, a section of people, including women, protested at an office of the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) in Pathanamthitta district.

Meanwhile, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Tuesday sounded an orange alert, predicting heavy rainfall in Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Alappuzha, Kottayam, Idukki, Ernakulam, Malappuram, Kozhikode, Kannur and Kasaragod for the day. Orange alert means very heavy rain of 11 cm to 20 cm.

Thunderstorms with moderate rainfall and gusty wind speeds reaching 50 km/h are likely at one or two places in these districts, IMD said.