Thiruvananthapuram: The capital city woke up to yet another bout of flooding caused by overnight rains on Thursday, the second time in over a month.
The relentless downpour that started on Wednesday evening and lasted till Thursday morning led to increased water flow through rivers. With Amayizhanchan, Ulloor, and Pattom canals in spate, low-lying areas in the city got submerged. The citizens were left grappling with waterlogged streets, disrupted traffic, and damaged infrastructure.
The same regions that witnessed flooding during heavy rains on October 14 were inundated. The government had announced projects to clean up major canals and drainage systems last month. However, the failure to implement the same on the ground exacerbated the issue.
Another reason cited for the flash flooding is the failure of the climatic prediction systems. A yellow alert was sounded in Thiruvananthapuram till Thursday evening. However, as the rains intensified, the authorities quickly issued an orange alert.
The city received a rainfall of 14.9 cm in a single night. Over 500 houses located in areas like Gowreeshpattom, Pattoor, Kannammoola, Ulloor, Thekkummoodu, Bund Colony, Karachi, Plamoodu, Kuzhivayal, and Murinjapalam were inundated.
Family spends hours in shivering cold in autorickshaw
Meanwhile, in a chilling tale of hardship, a family was forced to leave their submerged house and take refuge in an autorickshaw amid heavy rains for nearly 20 hours. Ajith Kumar, wife Suja, and Suja’s mother Indira, all residents of House No 303 at EMS Nagar in Pattoor, were forced to bear the brunt of the unpredictable weather as they spent a whole day and a night in the auto.
The flood water began pouring into their tin-roofed hut by 10.30 pm on Wednesday as the trio sought refuge in a parked autorickshaw along the roadside. Moved by their plight, the neighbours gave them food in the morning. By then, most of their belongings in the hut were destroyed by the flood waters. Though the rain started to abate as the sun was out on Thursday morning, they could move back to the house only by evening. This is the second time in over a month they were forced to take shelter in an autorickshaw as the heavens unleashed a torrent of rain.
Heavy rains in next four days
Meanwhile, the Met Department has predicted isolated heavy rains for four days from Friday. A cyclonic circulation characterized by a low-pressure belt is being formed above the South Andaman Sea and there are chances of it intensifying on November 26. This may result in continuous rains in the coming days, it cautioned.
A yellow alert has been sounded in Ernakulam and Kozhikode districts today. Fishermen along the coasts of Kerala and Lakshadweep have been advised against venturing into the sea.
