Panicgripped the coastal areas of Thrissur as high tidal waves lashed the coastlinefrom Sunday midnight. As many as 55 houses and several roads in the coastalbelt of Vadanappilly and Kodungallur areas were flooded after huge waves lashedthe coast.
Around 200 families living in two coloniesclose to Vadnappilly beach are facingflash flood threat since huge waves were constantly battering the coast andtheir hamlets for the past 24 hours.
Chavakkadtahasildar Mohammed Rafeeq told ‘Express’ that the waves have flooded more than55 houses in the area and damaged five houses completely. The coastlinecovering an area of about 100 m was flooded after huge waves advanced to theshore, he said.
Arelief camp has been opened at Kadheejumma Memorial School at Pokkencherry inVadanappilly. The residents of the coastal region said they were unable tosleep over the night, fearing from the advancing waves. The worst affected were the areas of Vayal Devi Temple, AK Peedika, andPokkencherry. They said that the sea walls built at various places in the areaare too low and weak to check the onslaught of the waves.
TheKodungallur tahasildar told ‘Express’ that that there was a rise in the seawaterlevel from Sunday midnight. Huge waves that lashed the coastal areas in Arappathodu,Puthiyathodu and Kara have created panic among the people, forcing some of themto evacuate their homes, he said.
Thechange in the sea behaviour was visible on the Vadanappilly Beach, with tallwaves advancing to the shore. Several coconut trees and Casuarina trees, abioshield against rough seas on the coastline, too, were uprooted in manyplaces. Fishermen who ventured out to sea said that this was first time in thismonsoon season that the sea had turned so rough in a particular region.
In some areas, fishermen had abstained from fishing on Monday. They said thatthe sea had eroded a major part of the coastline, adversely affecting traditionalfishing activity along the area.
Localresidents have long been demanding better maintenance of the sea wall. However,the district administration dubbed that the situation is under control. Controlrooms which were opened at the taluk headquarters, have been monitoring thesituation.
There is no need to panic as of now and the district machinery had been placedon alert, informed district administration. A large number of people are alsoflocking to the beach to watch the phenomenon.
RDOK Muraleedharan, deputy tahasildars Anil and Premchand visited the affected areas.
Seafury in Kollam
Kollam:Thesurging waves have been posing a threat to the coastal villages and fishermen alongthe Kollam coast. The waves gained strength along the Kakkathope, Kurishinmoodu,Gulfil Nagar, Thanni, Adhichamanthoppu, Lakshmipuram and Kochuthoppu coastalbelt near Eravipuram here.
Giantwaves that lashed the shoreline created panic among the coastal hamlets whichare most vulnerable to erosion. The district administration has evacuated around24 families from Tanni area as a precautionary measure.
CT Suresh Kumar, Fisheries Deputy Director, told Express that the families had beenlodged in the relief shelter and would be moved to the houses constructed underthe Tsunami Rehabilitation Project at Mayyanad, once they were completed. Hesaid that the situation was alarming along the coastal areas in the district. DistrictCollector P G Thomas, Irrigation and Fisheries Department officials and wardcouncillors visited the affected areas.
TheKadalora Jagratha Samithi convener Dallappan said that the surge of waves occurredalong the coastal belt was a phenomenon that would not last for more than 24hours.