Torrential rain and strong winds lashed Kerala on Thursday leaving one dead in Thiruvananthapuram and causing flood situation in low-lying regions in northern Kerala.
The deceased was identified as B. Ajayakumar, a Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) staffer. He died after a tree fell on him at Uzhamalackal.
The continuing rain hit life in many parts of Malabar. Steady increase in water level of rivers, including Chaliyar and its tributaries in north-eastern parts of Malappuram and Iruvazhinhi in Kozhikode, kept local administrators and rescue squads on their toes.
All tributaries of the Kabani, in Wayanad are in spate. Large-scale crop destruction was reported from Mukkom, Thiruvambadi, Karassery, and Mavoor in Kozhikode and Udayagiri and Ayyankunnu in Kannur.
A meeting of the district disaster management committee in Wayanad chaired by District collector Adeela Abdulla decided to shift the people living on the banks of the rivers to relief camps.
Several village roads and bridges were submerged in the region. As many as 1,396 members of 368 families in Wayanad district were shifted to 30 relief camps.
In Kannur, 19 families had to move to their relatives’ houses, while three people were shifted to a camp. Arrangements were made to open 421 camps in the district. Extensive damage to houses and crops were reported from Kasaragod.
Dozens of families were evacuated from Kavalappara and Pathar in Pothukal panchayat, the region devastated in landslips last year. It was a landslip on August 7 last year that claimed 59 lives at Kavalappara.
Incessant rain raised the water level in several rivers in Palakkad on Thursday. A 22-member disaster management team of the Centre reached Palakkad to tackle emergencies. The team will visit potential risk areas such as Attappady, Nelliyampathy, Mannarkkad, and Kottopadam.
In Idukki, a landslip occurred on the Gap road stretch of the Kochi-Dhanushkodi national highway. Water levels in the Idukki and Mullaperiyar dams are increasing steadily.
In Thrissur, a whirlwind lasting about three minutes wreaked havoc at Mothirakkanny, near Chalakudy.
Meanwhile, two more teams of the National Disaster Response Force have arrived in the State. They have been deployed in Malappuram and Palakkad.
The Kerala State Disaster Management Authority (KSDMA) has directed fishermen not to venture out to sea till Saturday as inclement weather has been forecast along the coast.