Two-storey house at Koonamthai tilts in heavy rain, family has narrow escape

KOCHI: A two-storey house near Kalamassery tilted and hit an adjacent house on Friday following heavy rain that has lashed Kochi over the past two days. The family residing in the nearly 20-year-old house had a narrow escape. It was around 6.30am that the house, which belongs to Hamsa of Beerankutty Road, Koonamthai, tilted to one side. Some residents in the neighbourhood rushed to the spot and evacuated Hamza’s wife and daughter with the help of a ladder. “It was raining heavily and I felt the building was shaking,” said Hairunneesa, Hamza’s wife. 

“Suddenly, I lost balance and collapsed on the floor. I asked my daughter Shabana to come out of the house but it was too tilted for us to move. Because of the heavy rain, no one was able to hear our screams. A neighbour noticed the condition of the building and alerted other people in the area who came to rescue us.”

Hairunneesa said she feels fortunate to have escaped a tragedy. “Though I am yet to recover from the shock, I feel relieved that we are still alive,” she said. Meanwhile, two other houses nearby are posing a similar threat to the residents. “We have shifted the other two families to an anganwadi. The houses adjacent to the building to are in a precarious condition. Officials from the Kalamassery municipality visited the house,” said Priya Babu, the local councillor.