THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: After a long dry spell, the summer rain that lashed the capital city in the past few days has brought cheers to the residents in the evening.
However, the summer rain and gusty wind left a trail of destruction in several parts of the city on Friday evening. The high-velocity wind wreaked widespread damage in Cliff House, Secretariat premise, Kuravankonam, Vattiyoorkavu, General Hospital premises and Kaithamukku apart from the rural areas.
Scores of trees were uprooted in the city. The bamboo trees in Cliff House were uprooted, blocking the traffic. A shade tree in the Secretariat annexure was also uprooted blocking the way for the vehicles parked inside the buildings. The traffic through many arterial and sub-arterial routes was also disrupted as trees fell across the road. On the General Hospital premises, an uprooted tree fell on electric lines bringing down the electric poles along with them. In some places, the electrical poles got twisted out of shape due to the heavy winds, snapping power supply. Most of these areas went without electric supply till midnight apart from disrupting the traffic through the inner roads.
According to authorities, the extent of damage is yet to be estimated. The Fire and Rescue Service personnel pressed as many as seven vehicles into service to remove the uprooted trees. Meanwhile, the sudden change in the weather in the evening provided the much-needed respite from the oppressive summer heat which has sent the mercury soaring to 36-37 degrees Celsius in the last one week in the city.