The coastal village of Chellanam, already under a lockdown till Monday to contain COVID-19 spread, saw heavy flooding on Sunday that brought down a house and severely damaged 10 others.

There are dozens of bedridden people in some areas where flooding is severe, said Joseph Arakkal of Velankanni, an area where sea walls have virtually collapsed, allowing high waves to wash into homes.

No injuries to people were reported in the house collapse. The house belonged to Kurisuparambil Varghese Chinnan, a fisherman, in the Bazaar area. The 10 houses that were damaged too are located close to the sea in the Bazaar area.

The other flooded areas are Velankanni, Ganapathikkad, Companippady, and North Chellanam. Further south, Kannamali, Puthenthode, Chalakkadavu, and Kandakkadavu too were affected.

It is a situation where “we are unable to go to our relatives’ houses even temporarily,” said Mr. Arakkal about the lockdown in force in the coastal village.

Meanwhile, the Chellanama Janakiya Vedhi said the area between Fort Kochi and South Chellanam faced severe sea erosion and alleged that the authorities had failed to open their eyes to the misery of the people.

Meanwhile, sea erosion and consequent flooding have hit other coastal areas in the district. Wards 1 and 13 of Njarakkal panchayat were flooded. However, no loss of property was reported.

The district administration said that relief camps would be opened if necessary.