KOCHI: Staring at her small house wrecked in the heavy wind that lashed Edathala on Sunday morning, Omana Rajan struggled to overcome the shock. Having lost her husband Rajan to a heart attack around a month ago, this was more than she could handle.
Yet, she is relieved that her four-member family, including her mother and two children, managed to avoid tragedy as they were not in their house near Maleppalli Junction when it came down.
“We went to my brother’s home on Saturday evening as the condition of my paralysed mother turned worse. Fortunately, we returned only after the havoc. As my husband passed away five weeks ago after a 12-year struggle with heart disease, I’m clueless about the way forward,” she said.
Echoing a similar sentiment, Prakashan, the younger brother of Rajan, pointed out that back-to-back deaths and the damage to the house now have deeply affected the entire family.
“Our eldest brother passed away around eight months ago due to a heart attack, followed by Rajan. Our father died in the same manner and the mother had a heart attack recently. This mishap is a double whammy for us. Along with Rajan’s home, our eldest bother’s house has also been damaged in the wind,” Prakashan said.
While Omana’s daughter passed Class 12 and cleared the entrance examination recently, her son is studying in Class 10.
“Though the family is going through severe financial strain, we have to take care of the children’s higher studies. As panchayat officials visited our damaged home, we are optimistic of receiving immediate relief,” said the 43-year-old.