TRIVANDRUM: Hundreds of women took to the streets in coastal areas of the state capital here on Saturday as scores of their men went to fishing in the Arabian Sea were yet to return.

The state government put the total fishermen missing in the sea at 126, of them, 120 from the fishing hamlets of the state capital, and the dead at 14 as the aftereffects of Cyclone Ockhi that ripped through the sea off the Kerala coast and moved west-northwestwards over the Laccadives.

But the families say they had not heard from many more of their loved ones ventured into the sea Wednesday evening in country boats or catamarans to return after overnight fishing with the day’s catch for the local market.

The women, children and the elderly are waiting on the shores for them as the naval rescuers fished out five bodies disfigured beyond recognition. The protesters blocked the highway for hours.

The Navy and the Coast Guard have so far rescued 450 men and the survivors now reaching here were mostly from mechanised boats that used to stock enough food and water.

The villagers are angry at the government’s failure to communicate the storm warning the met authorities issued on Wednesday before they went into the sea.

The high rate of causality from a relatively low-intensity cyclone triggered public outrage, while the authorities expect other survivors reaching elsewhere along the Kerala and Tami Nadu coasts.

Not satisfied with the ongoing search operations, some of them went into the sea in seven boats to look for the survivors defying the warning by the state.

Tamil Nadu has been spared of the threat of Cyclone Sagar, weather experts said on Saturday, even as Cyclone Ockhi moved away from the state’s coast. A low pressure area over Malay peninsula that was expected to turn into cyclone Sagar in a few days has faded away.

Ockhi was headed for Lakshadweep as of Saturday evening. Its impact, however, lingered on for the third day.

Rain was heavy. Many parts of south and coastal Tamil Nadu have received heavy rainfall in the last 24 hours leading to heavy flooding in the localities. The Sathanur dam recorded very heavy rainfall of 23 cm.

Political leaders and officials were pouring into Kanyakumari, the worst-affected district on the coast. Two ministers and four IAS officers are monitoring relief operations.

Rains will continue, according to the Met office. It said heavy to very heavy rain is likely to occur at some places over north Tamil Nadu and Puducherry while rain or thundershower is likely to occur at a few places over south Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and at some places over north Tamil Nadu on Sunday. Fishermen along and off south Tamil Nadu coast are advised not to venture into Comorin area and Arabian sea during the next 48 hours.

Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami spoke to the media about the government’s measures to mitigate Ockhi’s fallout in Kanyakumari, Tirunelveli and Tuticorn districts.

“I have sent Revenue Minister RB Udayakumar and Health Minister Vijayabhaskar to Kanyakumari to look after relief measures,” he said.

“Moreover, I have sent four special IAS officers along with them to aid in the process. The first step will be removing excess floodwater from all the localities.” In a statement, the chief minister urged the public not to panic and said two teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) with about 60 personnel have been sent to coastal Kanyakumari.

Besides, district collectors have been instructed to take all measures to prevent flooding and also evacuate public from low-lying areas.