KOCHI: An unexpected monsoon wind that blew across Edathala around 7.45am on Sunday, wreaked havoc in the pristine village near Aluva. The strong wind which lasted less than a minute uprooted several trees, damaged houses and overturned vehicles. Thankfully, there were no human casualties.
“Almost a 2.5km area was completely affected. Several electric posts were damaged after the uprooted trees fell on them. Luckily, no one was injured. However, several poor families who lived in dilapidated houses lost their home,” said Edathala native Ameen Abdul Khader.
“I lost Jathi trees that were planted by my father more than 50 years ago. Although the wind lasted only a few seconds, it uprooted almost 14 trees. Our housemaid Anitha suffered an injury on her forehead after a tree fell close to our home. She was rushed to the hospital. The cut required seven stitches,” said Anis Ahamed, another resident.
The Edathala grama panchayat is planning to repair the affected houses in the coming weeks. “It is saddening to see that many poor families were forced to bear the brunt of the wind. We have shifted them to their relatives’ homes and will take up the basic repair works of their homes soon,” said Sajitha Abbas, president, Edathala grama panchayat.