Goa: Uprooted trees, snapped wires keep firemen on toes

PANAJI/PONDA: The fire services control room was inundated with calls for rescue on Wednesday as heavy rains across Goa threw normal life off balance. The damage due to uprooted trees and electric wires kept the uniformed men on their toes.
At least seven tree falls were reported, of which two trees fell on residential houses - one at Majorda, Verna and the other at Poinguinim, Canacona. No casualties were reported.
In Canacona taluka, an old house occupied by a rented woman, Sharad Bhat, was damaged at Poinguinim after an old coconut tree crashed on it, thus causing loss to the tune of Rs 1 lakh, said station fire officer Ravindranath Pednekar.
According to reports, Pednekar informed that they got a call at 12.40pm informing that the rented house has been damaged following a coconut tree that came crashing on it, damaging the roofing and one side of the wall. Luckily, Bhat who was in the house, wasn't affected as the tree fell on the other side.
The fire services staff also cleared two wild trees that have fallen on the road one each at Dumanem and the other in Poinguinim on the road.
It rained moderate to heavy for some time but there was no damage to any property other than the old house.
Although Ponda didn’t receive heavy rain, the Ponda central fire station received three calls of four trees uprooting within 24 hours on Wednesday. While the two trees had fallen on roads, one collapsed on a house. A jungle tree had fallen on electric lines and road at Usgao on early Wednesday morning, while a huge banyan tree collapsed at Bethora in the morning.
Similarly, two trees, one each of Mango and tamarind, collapsed on a house of Ferus Raposo at Socrem, Shiroda.
While there were no flood rescues for humans, the fire personnel spent major part of the day rescuing animals across the state. In Canacona, a cow was rescued from a swimming pool, while a dog was trapped in the gate of a compound wall near the Old Goa police station after it tried to seek shelter from the rain. Also, a buffalo was rescued from a lake at New Vaddem, Vasco, and a dog was rescued from a well at Valpoi market.