Concerns mount over the missing 270 fishermen from Thiruvananthapuram. Photo: ManoramaKey highlights
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• TVPM native killed, death toll touches 7
• 223 fishermen rescued, search on for others
• Weathermen warn of high tides in coastal areas
• Cyclone Ockhi intensifies, moves towards Lakshadweep
• Heavy rain in Lakshadweep
• Rain continues to wreak havoc in southern and central districts
Thiruvananthapuram/Kollam: As many as 223 fishermen from Kerala, stranded in the sea off the coast due to inclement weather conditions triggered by cyclone Ockhi, were brought safely to the shore on Friday even as the death toll rose to 7 in the state.
Cyclone Ockhi, which in Bengali means 'eye', on Friday intensified into a severe cyclonic storm and moved to the Arabian Sea. It lay centered about 80km north-northeast of Minicoy in Lakshadweep.
Also read: Red alert in Lakshadweep as Ockhi intensifies into severe cyclone | Videos
Many rescued fishermen have been admitted to the medical college and general hospitals since they were weak after being sea-faring vessels in for the past 48 hours, an official said.
Thirtyeight fishing boats, stranded in the mid sea, were spotted by the Navy and they were provided food and rescue kits.
Efforts to locate the other boats in the sea were going on, the Kerala chief minister's office said adding that the government medical college and general hospital here have been kept ready to provide necessary treatment to fishermen brought to the shore.
Also read: After Ockhi, another cyclone threatens Tamil Nadu and Andhra coasts
Seven people, five in Thiruvananthapuram and one each in Kollam and Kasaragod districts have died in rain-related incidents in the state so far. On Thursday, the state reported four rain-related deaths, including that of an elderly couple who were electrocuted when they came into contact with a snapped live wire in front of their house at Kattakada, near Thiruvananthapuram.
Congress leaders met Poonthura natives and said they would convey the fishermen's concerns to the CMThe state government has opened 29 relief camps in various places. A total of 2755 people,from 491 families are in these camps, government sources said.
A total of 56 houses were completely damaged and 799 houses suffered partial damage across the state, they said.
Rescue operations in full swing
Even though the sea continued to be rough, rescue operations are on in full swing.
The Navy, Coast Guard and the Air Force are engaged in rescue operations with their ships, aircraft, and helicopters. Besides engaging divers, the Indian Navy has deployed two aircraft and an advanced light helicopter (ALH).
The Indian Navy is putting in 'maximum effort' to rescue fishermen from the sea which is very rough under the influence of Cyclone Ockhi, vice-admiral AR Karve, Flag Officer, Commanding-in-Chief, Southern Naval Command, told reporters on board INS Tir at the naval base in Kochi.
Govt warns huge tides
Quoting the Indian National Center for Ocean Information Services, Kerala CMO said there is a possibility of "huge waves" occurring 10 km off the state's coast till Saturday evening.
Rain and strong winds are likely to continue in different places in the next 24 hours.
Rising water-level
With the India Meteorological Department (IMD) predicting a heavy rainfall at isolated places of Tamil Nadu and Kerala over the next 24 hours in view of Cyclone Ockhi, the Central Water Commission (CWC) on Friday said the pouring might trigger a rapid rise in the water level of the rivers in the two southern states.
A CWC advisory said the west-flowing rivers in Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Pathanamthitta, Idukki, Kottayam, Alappuzzha and Ernakulam in Kerala were likely to rise over the next 24 hours and then, slowly fall as the rains reduced.
Lakshadweep on high alert
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said Ockhi had intensified into a severe cyclone, moving towards Lakshadweep. Reports said it could wreak havoc on the densely populated islands. The cyclone has already triggered massive rainfall in the area.
Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan said the state had asked the defense ministry to deploy more aircraft for rescue operations in the wake of the cyclone moving towards Lakshadweep.
Top Navy officials said they had deployed two ships to the Lakshadweep Islands for rescue and relief.
In Lakshadweep, orders had been issued to evacuate people from low-lying areas in Kalpeni, Minicoy, Kavratti, Agatti, Androth, Kadamath and Amini islands, official sources said. People are being shifted to schools, they said.
Five boats anchored at a jetty in Kalpeni were damaged in heavy rain, coupled with strong winds. As per the latest MET bulletin, the system is very likely to intensify further in the next 24 hours.
"It is very likely to continue to move west-northwest across Lakshadweep islands during the next 24 hours and then move north-northeast during the subsequent 48 hours," it added.
Protest
Anxious kin of the missing fishermen, including women, on Friday blocked traffic and raised slogans in Kollam and Thiruvanathapuram, protesting the delay in rescue. In Thiruvananthapuram, fishermen and women blocked the national highway braving heavy rain. Former chief minister Oommen Chandy, leader of the opposition Ramesh Chennithala and BJP state president Kummanam Rajasekharan visited fishing hamlets in Poonthura near here, from where a large number of fishermen, who put out to sea, were yet to return. People alleged that even the collector had not turned up.
Late warning
Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan Friday said the state did not receive alert on the Cyclone Ockhi. "We received warning about cyclone only Thursday afternoon," the CM told reporters Friday.
Normally, the State Disaster Management Authority, Indian Navy or the IMD are expected to issue a warning. But a low pressure formed near Lakshadweep intensified into a cyclonic storm Thursday afternoon, springing a surprise to both th authorities and the people. However, the cyclonic storm, on its way towards Lakshadweep, battered the southern coastline.
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