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KOCHI: Six people lost their lives as heavy rain continued to lash Kerala for the second consecutive day on Tuesday. The downpour inundated low-lying areas, damaged houses and triggered mudslides in high ranges. Fire and rescue services personnel had their hands full removing uprooted trees that fell on busy roads due to strong wind, and rescuing people caught in rivers in spate.
A mother-son duo died following a wall collapse at Kottekad near Vadakkencherry in Palakkad. Sulochana,70, and her son Ranjith, 32, were sleeping when the wall of their one-room house collapsed and fell on them late on Monday night.
In separate incidents, two persons drowned in waterlogged paddy fields in Kannur district. The body of Kunhamina, 51, of Mattannur Kolari, was found in the field near her house around 7.30pm on Monday. Chandrasekaran, 63, a painting worker, died after falling into a small canal near a paddy field while returning home after work on Monday night.
Two persons died of electrocution after they came into contact with power lines that snapped following to heavy rain in Pathanamthitta and Wayanad districts.
Reji, 48, a resident of Mepral, in Pathanamthitta, was collecting grass for cattle when the accident occurred on Tuesday morning. Sudhan, 32, of Cheeyambam in Wayanad, died of electrocution on Tuesday afternoon after stepping on a snapped power line while walking through a paddy field near his house.
Orange alert issued for Malabar region today
The fire and rescue services personnel in Palakkad won accolades as they rescued four people from Tamil Nadu who entered the Chittoor river and were trapped on a rock midstream due to strong currents. The flow in the river increased as water was released from Moolanthara regulator.
A youth, who was trapped on a rock at Seetharkundu waterfalls in Palakkad, was rescued by a fire force team on Monday. Ramesh of Vandithavalam in Palakkad had entered the waterfall along with three friends unnoticed by watchers. While his friends managed to reach to safety, Ramesh could not cross as the river was in full spate.
Traffic on the busy Kochi-Dhanushkodi NH was disrupted due to mudslide and uprooted trees at Adimali, Munnar and Gap Road. Traffic was disrupted at Periyavarai on Munnar-Udumalpet highway due to mudslide. Hundreds of houses were damaged by uprooted trees in Palakkad, Pathanamthitta, Kannur, Thrissur, Ernakulam and Kozhikode districts.
In view of the heavy rain, tourist spots like Ilavizha Poonchira, Illikal Kallu and Marmala stream in Kottayam have been closed till Thursday. Night traffic has been banned on Erattupetta-Vagamon road. The ban on night traffic in Idukki will continue until the IMD withdraws the alert.
The KSEB has suffered substantial loss as over 1,000 electric posts were damaged by uprooted trees. The 220KV feeder lines of Lower Periyar and Brahmapuram projects have been switched off due to mudslide on the switch yard of Lower Periyar Hydro Power project. However, the mudslide has not affected its functioning.
The IMD has forecast heavy to very heavy rainfall at isolated places in Kerala from June 17 to 20. An orange alert has been issued for Malappuram, Kozhikode, Wayanad, Kannur and Kasaragod districts on Wednesday.