Hundreds stuck in flooded homes in Pathanamthitta

Residents stuck in first floors & terraces of buildings

The sudden rise in water level in the river Pampa since Tuesday night has flooded many areas of Pathanamthitta district, leaving hundreds marooned and calling out for help.

Residents of areas, including Ranni, Aranmula, Maramon, Edappavoor and Kozhanchery called television channels to give out their locations and sought help from rescue teams operating in the district.

The residents are learnt to be stuck in first floors and terraces of buildings as floodwater has already left the ground floors submerged.

Heavy rain and discharge of water from the Kakki and Anathode dams – both part of the Sabarigiri Hydroelectric Project – caused a sudden rise in the water level in Pampa since Monday.

The overflowing river had breached its banks and flooded shops and pilgrim facilities on the foothills of Sabarimala and led to restriction in entry to the hill shrine.

Though the district administration had issued alerts regarding a possible rise in water levels, the deluge took many residents off guard.

Many students of colleges in the region are also stranded in hostels. People who called out for help, also through videos on social media, said some of them had run out of food and disruptions in power supply were also creating problems.

Late on Wednesday night, rescue teams were being alerted on locations of the marooned residents and requests were being made to airlift them.

Earlier in the day, seven people who were stranded in a flooded home in the district were rescued.

Members of the group, rescued from Mamukku in Ranni by a team of Navy personnel, said floodwater had gushed into their home Tuesday night before they took shelter in a neighbour’s two-storey home.

After water started rising there, they called out for assistance in evacuation. The rescued residents were brought to Thiruvananthapuram late in the evening.