Monsoon showers destruction on N Kerala

The southwestern monsoon continued to rain down destruction and miseries in north Kerala on Wednesday causing landslides, swelling of rivers, isolation of villages, flooding of roads, inundation of farmlands and loss of crops, while the monsoon remained relatively calm in many areas in the southern regions of the State on the day.

However, fears about intensified monsoon activity were yet to subside as weathermen have warned that heavy rains and strong winds could continue to lash the State, especially the northern Kerala districts and east-central Idukki. Fishermen have been advised to avoid launching boats as the sea is likely to remain extremely rough.

The district worst affected by this year’s monsoon activity so far in northern Kerala is Palakkad where at least a dozen Adivasi Urs (settlements) were cut off in the Attapadi region after the River Bhavani breached the banks inundating the nearby farmlands and flooding low-lying forest areas. The River Siruvani in the district was also overflowing on Wednesday.

According to reports, Attapadi is the one region that bore the maximum brunt of the rains in Palakkad district. Several Adivasi families had to be shifted to safer places after their settlements were flooded or cut off by rising river waters. Crop losses the tune of Rs 12 crore has taken place in Attapadi alone as per rough estimates, said Revenue Department officials.

After several hours of laborious efforts, the police, Fire and Rescue men and local people on Wednesday morning succeeded in rescuing a couple, Sugunan and Valsala of Mannarkad, Palakkad, from a small island on the flooded River Bhavani where they had been trapped for the past five days.

At least two houses were destroyed partially and farmlands were buried under mud in Palakkayam near Mannarkad in a landslide that occurred at nearby Thachampara forest on Wednesday morning.  Traffic along the Attapadi Pass came to a halt following mudslides even as heavy downpour continued to pound the Siruvani area in the district.

Parts of an important inter-state road connecting Kannur with Mysore were washed away in landslides in Iritti in Kannur district and in the adjacent forest regions of Karnataka. The part of the road at Makkoottam, a place near the Kerala-Karnataka border, was completely washed away bringing the traffic on the route to a complete halt.

People in the Anakkampoyil region of northern Kozhikode district spent Wednesday in anxiety and panic after Tuesday evening’s landslide in the Thenpara forest area following which the District Collector issued an alert warning.