Alappuzha: Amidst the India Meteorological Department's warning for rough sea conditions due to the low-pressure area over the southeast part of the Arabian Sea, coastal regions of Alappuzha witnessed sea incursion and high tidal waves on Sunday night. Nearly seven boats anchored to the harbour broke loose and smashed against the rocks in Valiyazheekkal harbour when sea incursion and high winds hit the coast. Two of the boats were fully destroyed, while the others suffered partial damage.
“The attempts to bring in what's left of the seven boats are on,” said Bineesh Dev, a social worker. “Four boats have already been brought in. One boat has got trapped among the rocks and cannot be retrieved. The rest will be brought in shortly,” he added.
Fisheries officials were on the spot taking the assessment of the damages. The boats, with their motors and nets, are worth lakhs of rupees.
Meanwhile, the fisherfolks in the area have alleged unscientific construction of the harbour as the reason for the sea incursion. No casualties are reported so far.
On Sunday, the Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Sciences (INCOIS) had sounded Vizhinjam. As per the warning, high tidal waves up to a height of 2.4m were expected to hit the shores of southern Kerala. In the advisory, INCOIS urged the fishermen to ensure the safety of the fishing boats and other equipment including motors and nets in view of the bad weather.
