MANGALURU: A 12-year-old boy is feared to have washed away in the high tides that hit Maravanthe beach in Kundapur.
Junaid from Boliyar was playing on the shore when he was swept away by a massive wave. His friends, 14-year-old Unais and Iyaz (14) who miraculously escaped the current were hospitalised.
Junaid, who had accompanied his family to a wedding at Shiroor had decided to play at the beach on their journey back to Uppiangady. The family stopped at the Maravante beach oblivious to the swell waves that were being alerted about during the weekend.
A search operation is on for young Junaid. Meanwhile, a couple of houses in Uchila and Someshwara were submerged as high tide hit the shore on Sunday.
As many as 15 police, fire and revenue department personnel were stationed at the Uchila shore at Someshwar for more than 24 hours up to Monday evening to attend to any emergency caused by high-energy swell waves that hit the west coast for the past three days.
The team evacuated four houses on Sunday, as the sea water that has filled their compounds may erode their walls made of mud. These houses are situated on lower levels, along with 25 others, which make them vulnerable to floods, confirmed officials.
While there was no major loss of property, the water from the compound was cleared by the fire department, and members of those houses were relocated, said Santosh.
While the phenomenon is not new to the locals there who claim to have seen this for about 35 years, Santosh says the constant sea erosion eats into the land border, reducing the land mass, which is why it recurs. "Besides this, sand fills up the stone barrier that is put in place, and lets the water into the land," he said.
The rescue team made announcements about rough seas using a mic at the shore on Saturday and by Sunday engineers brought in seven loads of rocks to create a temporary barrier. A gruel centre was opened, where locals helped with meals for the rescue team. "We had the local variety of anna sambar and palya," said Santosh.
The team awaits a message by the natural disaster management centre to signal them it is safe to leave.
As per the communique from the Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) on Monday, high-energy swell waves witnessed along the coastline during the last two days reduced in intensity along the west coast of India and Lakshadweep. However, the rough sea warning is still in place until tomorrow (Tuesday) midnight for the west coast, Lakshadweep, and South Tamil Nadu.
Flash floods hit houses on shore in Uchila Someshwar over the weekend. Four families evacuated until Monday