PATHANAMTHITTA: It began as a steady drizzle on Friday. By dawn on Saturday, Ranni had become a town under water.
Eight years after the 2018 floods, the hill town woke up to a chilling replay of the disaster as the Pampa River burst its banks following torrential overnight rain, inundating homes, shops and roads within a matter of hours and forcing hundreds to flee.
Unlike in 2018, when floodwaters rose gradually, residents said this time the river swelled with startling speed, leaving little time to move belongings or escape. “Many shopkeepers could not even open their shutters. Those who did barely had time to save their goods,” said Fr Bensi Mathew Kizhakethil, a local priest, noting that the floods have dealt a major setback to local traders at the start of Onam shopping season”
By daybreak, large swathes of Ranni town, including Ittiyappara, were submerged under two to two-and-a-half feet of floodwater. Families remained stranded inside their homes, while several people sought refuge on the upper floors of commercial buildings as the water continued to rise.
The town’s major access routes were cut off after the Mamukku and Pulimukku bridges were submerged. Traffic on the Ranni-Tiruvalla, Ranni-Cherukolpuzha-Kozhencherry and Ranni-Keekozhoor-Kozhencherry roads came to a standstill, isolating the flood-hit town.
The district received intense overnight rainfall after intermittent showers through Friday. Officials said nearly 300mm of rain was recorded in the Sabarimala forest catchments, sending enormous volumes of runoff into the Pampa and triggering flash flooding downstream.
Soon, rescue boats, an eerie reminder of 2018, were plying Ranni’s streets. Police and Fire and Rescue Services personnel, who had been deployed at Sabarimala for the Niraputhari festival, were diverted to rescue operations. Kuttavanchis (coracles) from the Adavi Eco Tourism project were also brought in to evacuate stranded residents from inundated neighbourhoods.
As the Pampa overflowed at several points, floodwaters spread rapidly downstream to Kozhencherry, Cherukolpuzha and Aranmula, prompting evacuations in low-lying areas and the opening of relief camps.
“The floodwaters had begun to recede by around 4.30pm. However, continued rain and the possibility of landslides in the Sabarimala forest remain a cause for concern. We only hope the water level continues to fall,” said K R Prakash, a resident and volunteer.