Heavy rains, strong winds continue to lash Kerala causing widespread destruction

Thiruvananthapuram: A Huge number of trees got uprooted, houses were damaged, rivers are in spate, and shutters of some dams were raised in Kerala on Sunday with heavy rains overnight and strong winds continuing to lash across the state.

Almost all districts of the state received widespread rains throughout the night and in the morning, causing intense waterlogging in low-lying areas and traffic snarls.

In landslide-battered Chooralmala in Wayanad, incessant heavy rains caused concerns among local people the previous night.

Water flow in the Punnapuzha River, crisscrossing through the Chooralmala-Mundakkai region, heavily increased due to continuing downpour, they said.

"We are yet to recover from the shock of last year's landslide. We have not slept properly at night, as we were scared of seeing heavy rains. We feared something worse," an elderly local man told a TV channel.

In Pathanamthitta district, a family had a narrow escape as huge trees uprooted and fell upon their tile-roof house near Ezhamkulam, as strong winds accompanied by a downpour lashed the area on the previous evening.

"My daughter had a narrow escape as she just came out of the house when the trees fell upon the house," a family member said, pointing towards the broken roof of his old tiny house.

Five shutters of the Malankara dam in Idukki district were raised on Sunday morning to release the excess water, according to an official statement.

Those who live on the banks of the Thodupuzha and Moovattupuzha rivers should exercise caution in view of the raising of dam shutters, it said.

Uprooting of trees was reported in northern Kozhikode and Kasaragod districts, where strong winds caused damage in many places.

Tragedy was averted in the heart of Kollam city as a huge flex board, erected on the side of a road, fell, local people said.

A house and vehicles were damaged as uprooted trees fell upon them in Kunnathunad and Munambam Harbour, respectively, in Ernakulam district.

Meanwhile, the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) on Sunday predicted thunderstorms with moderate rainfall (5-15mm/ hour) with surface wind speed likely to be 50 Kmph (in Gusts) at a few places in Ernakulam, Thrissur, Malappuram and Kozhikkode.

Moderate rainfall (5-15mm/ hour) with surface wind speed likely to be 40 Kmph (in Gusts) at a few places in Alappuzha, Pathanamthitta, Kottayam, Palakkad, Kozhikode, Wayanad, Kannur and Kasaragode, it said.

The Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) warned of high tidal waves from 3.1 metres to 4.2 metres and rough seas in the coastal area of the state till Monday night.

The IMD on Saturday announced the early onset of monsoons in the state. It said that the state is witnessing the early arrival of monsoon after a gap of 16 years.

According to the IMD, the monsoon arrived eight days earlier than usual, and the last time this happened was on May 23, 2009.

Prior to that, an early onset of the monsoon was seen on May 19, 1990, after 1975, it said.