Floods disrupt life in north Kerala as monsoon lashes state
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Thiruvananthapuram: Incessant monsoon rains continued to lash Kerala on Monday, severely disrupting daily life across the state. Road and rail traffic were impacted, with northern districts bearing the brunt of the downpour.
Rising water levels in rivers and other water bodies triggered widespread flooding, prompting evacuations in several areas. Residents in districts such as Kannur and Kasaragod were forced to seek shelter in relief camps after floodwaters inundated their homes.
In Kannur, people were seen wading through knee-deep water since Sunday evening, making their way to safer locations amid worsening conditions.
"Children and elderly people were already shifted to relatives' houses. "We are now moving to a relief camp opened nearby," a resident said.
He lamented that frequent waterlogging following rains has made their lives miserable, preventing children from attending school and adults from going to work.
In Kannur’s Kakkad area, an arterial road was left completely submerged, bringing traffic to a grinding halt. Commuters, unaware of the flooding, were seen struggling to push their two-wheelers through knee-deep water.
Meanwhile in Kasaragod, rivers including the Thejaswini Puzha were in spate, prompting authorities to issue advisories against venturing into water bodies. At least 10 families in the Vellarikund region were relocated to relief camps due to flooding concerns, officials confirmed.
Further south in Pathanamthitta, a man was injured on Sunday evening when a tree, uprooted by intense rain and gusty winds, crashed onto his house in Malayalapuzha.
Heavy rainfall also caused widespread delays in rail services across the state. According to authorities, several trains—including the Venad and Malabar Expresses—were running late, along with multiple passenger services.
The southwest monsoon remained active over Kerala and Lakshadweep on Monday, bringing widespread rainfall, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD). Thennala in Malappuram district recorded extremely heavy rainfall of 21 cm, while Vadakara in Kozhikode received 18 cm. Several locations across Kasaragod and Kannur districts reported rainfall between 15 and 16 cm.
Out of 127 monitoring stations across the state, the IMD noted one with extremely heavy rainfall, 19 with very heavy rain, and 33 with heavy rainfall.
Gusty winds accompanied the downpour, with speeds peaking at 80 kmph in Idukki and reaching 61 kmph in Kottayam and Wayanad.
The IMD has forecast moderate rainfall and gusty winds up to 50 kmph in isolated areas across Thiruvananthapuram, Ernakulam, Thrissur, Palakkad, Malappuram, Kozhikode, Wayanad, Kannur, and Kasaragod districts over the coming hours.
(inputs from PTI)
