KOCHI: The heavy rain that lashed Kochi on Tuesday morning was the result of a mini cloudburst, said experts. “Such climatic conditions are due to the Madden Julian Oscillation, a major fluctuation in tropical weather on weekly to monthly timescales, approaching the Kerala coast,” said Dr Abhilash S, director of the Advanced Centre for Atmospheric Radar Research, Cochin University of Science and Technology.
“The deep clouds result in heavy rain — 6cm to 11cm — in a span of one-two hours. This short rain leads to flash floods and landslides,” he said.
Meanwhile, residents have come up questioning the efficiency of the Operation Breakthrough. C G Suresh, joint secretary, Ernakulam Residents’ Associations’ Apex Council (EDRAAC), said Operation Breakthrough was designed only for some areas.
“The projectwas implemented in only selected areas. But, even those areas like the ones near Jawaharlal Nehru International Stadium got inundated,” he said. “So, what went wrong? It can all be blamed on the unscientific manner in which the project was implemented,” he said. Rajeev Nair, who lives at SRM Road, said at many places cleaning drives were done recently. “The joke is that these very places faced waterlogging the most.”