Torrential monsoon rains accompanied by gusty winds continued to lash Kerala on Tuesday, disrupting road and rail traffic, flooding low-lying areas, and damaging crops worth crores of rupees.
The incessant downpour over the past four days has battered agricultural land, particularly in the high ranges, and triggered incidents of uprooted trees, house wall collapses, and electrical short circuits across the state.
Since the onset of the monsoon last week on May 24, three casualties have been reported, prompting the state government to open a dozen relief camps in affected districts, officials said.
In Wayanad, 242.74 hectares of farmland have been destroyed due to rains, flooding and strong winds, while agricultural crops in 101.47 hectares of land have been lost in neighbouring Kozhikode district, authorities said.
The falling of uprooted trees on railway tracks has caused great concern in northern districts since last night. Several trains are running four to five hours behind schedule due to blockages caused by fallen trees.
An electric line fell upon the track in the Kozhikode-Areekode route following the uprooting of a huge tree, authorities said. It took a few hours for the authorities to clear the track and restore normal train traffic on the route.
According to railway sources, many trains, including Thiruvananthapuram-bound Vande Bharat Express and Parasuram Express, reached their destinations late.
State Public Works Department Minister PA Mohammed Riyas visited the railway tracks near Kozhikode to assess the damage and said the railways had been alerted to manage trees along the tracks.
“Meetings and review sessions with people’s representatives were held as early as April. However, this time the weather has changed drastically, which is part of the challenge,” he said.
According to the local meteorological office, heavy rainfall was recorded Tuesday morning in Thrissur, Kozhikode, and Kannur districts, with Vellanikara in Thrissur reporting the highest rainfall at 114.7 mm, followed by 113.4 mm in Kozhikode city and 113.2 mm in Kannur.
Water levels in rivers have been steadily increasing, and a large number of houses located in low-lying areas were flooded in the northern Wayanad district, where there has been no respite from heavy rains for the last several days.
In many inundated areas, it could be seen that people were using fibre boats to reach safer places. Hundreds of people, including those from isolated tribal hamlets, were shifted to relief camps, authorities said.
Reports of destruction of houses and loss of crops came from the high ranges of Ernakulam district, especially from the Kothamangalam area.
Huge boulders which fell onto the roads from the hills disrupted traffic for some time in highrange Kallar near Thiruvananthapuram.
The rain situation in the northern district of Kannur was not different, as incidents of mudslides and inundation of low-lying areas were reported from there too.
Earlier in the day, Revenue Minister K Rajan told reporters here that as many as 607 houses have been destroyed across the state due to intense rains. Of them, 21 houses were destroyed completely, he said.
The disruption of power supply for houses triggered people's protests in many places. TV channels showed a section of people, including women, protesting at an office of the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) in Pathanamthitta district.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) had sounded a 'red alert' in Kozhikode, Kannur and Wayanad districts and an 'orange alert' in Pathanamthitta, Kottayam, Ernakulam, Idukki, Thrissur, Palakkad, Malappuram and Kasaragod for Tuesday.
The IMD has forecast heavy (7-11 cm in 24 hours) to very heavy (12-20 cm in 24 hours) rainfall at a few places in Kerala on May 27, and at isolated places from May 28 to 30. Heavy rainfall is also likely at isolated places in Kerala on May 31 and June 1, and in Lakshadweep on May 26.
Strong westerlies are likely to continue at lower tropospheric levels over the Kerala and Lakshadweep region during the next five days, it said. Squally weather with wind speeds of 35 to 50 kmph, gusting up to 60 kmph, is also expected along and off the Kerala coast.
"Fairly widespread to widespread light/moderate rainfall accompanied with thunderstorm, lightning and gusty winds speed reaching 40-50 kmph with isolated heavy rainfall likely over Kerala, during 27-30 May," an IMD statement said.
In view of the rain alerts, the district authorities declared a holiday for educational institutions in Wayanad and Kozhikode.
(With inputs from PTI, ANI and IANS)