Cyclone Ockhi: Two casualties; people decry lack of long-term relief

KOCHI: The storm and high waves which lashed out in coastal areas in the district claimed two lives in Chellanam and caused damage to over 374 houses. With this, the death toll in the state rose to 10. 
Rexon Kalipparambil, 45, died on Saturday morning. Theesamma, 56, wife of  Chinnappan of Palliparambil, died on Friday late night. According to the local people, Rexon who was shifted to a relief camp was found dead early in the morning on the roadside. Residents believe as the road was slushy, he slipped and hit his head on a rock. He was found lying face down and covered in mud. Treesamma died of cardiac arrest after seeing her house completely engulfed by the sea. She had gone to a marriage function and on returning, she saw her house was completely flooded. 

Meanwhile, the report accessed from the district administration claimed out of the 374 damaged houses, five have collapsed completely. The remaining houses are partially damaged. Though several trees were uprooted in the area, no casualties have been reported owing to this. Most of the damage was concentrated around Chellanam, Kumbalangi, and Edavanakkad. 

2,648 people evacuated
With water entering homes on Saturday, the district administration has shifted 718 families consisting of 2,648 persons to relief camps. As many as 39 relief camps have been set up by the district administration. The most numbers of evacuees were in Kumbalangi village with around 1,300 persons shifted to the relief camps in the area. At Chellanam, 425 were evacuated, around 595 in Nayarambalam and 164 in Edavanakkad. 

Agriculture loss
As per the data sourced from the Agriculture Department, there has been about Rs 25 lakh of damage to crops. “Around 300 banana trees in Chellanam and Edavanakkad were completely damaged. The primary survey also found coconut trees in 10 hectares were damaged,” said an agriculture officer.

Gloom at relief camps
The people in refugee camps pass each moment in sadness and with the fear of loss, for all their assets and all their dreams are in the houses which are now flooded. “I am carrying the original certificates of my children with me to at least to secure their future. Everything we had has been washed out,” said Sheeba Sabu.  

The residents are desperate. This sort of calamity has become an annual routine, yet no action is taken to prevent it or to protect their houses and lives. Florie Augustine, a resident of Chellanam claims for the past three years, seawall work has been stayed and this is a root cause of all the destruction now. “Year after year this calamity happens and we return to our homes only to find the house partially or in full ruin,” said Shyla Joseph.