Southwest monsoon displays its fury in Kerala, 16 dead; Trivandrum, Alappuzha most affected

On May 16, well before the monsoon had arrived in the state, the state disaster management commissioner convened a meeting of the district IAS officers to discuss the preparedness of each of the 14 districts. Following the meeting, a 45-point special circular was forwarded to all the relevant departments to ensure close coordination and close follow-up of the prescribed rules. Technical experts directly from the SDMA in nine of the 14 districts have been working in close consonance with the district officials from June 1. Emergency operation centres in every district were strengthened and control rooms were set up at taluk level to relay important information

Relief camps have been set up to accommodate families whose houses may have been completely or partially destroyed in rain and winds. While ten families are present at the relief camp in Thiruvananthapuram, 22 families are in the camp in Alappuzha and 1 in Kottayam.

As monsoon clouds gather over the horizon in Cochin. (Express photo by Nirmal Harindran)

Revenue Minister E Chandrasekharan informed the Kerala Assembly on Monday that a total of 188.41 hectares of agricultural land have been destroyed in the rains reporting losses of Rs 634.08 lakh. 2784 farmers have been affected in the state and will be duly compensated with Rs 18000 each, he announced.

District-wise losses till Monday

Heavy rains accompanied by winds resulted in four casualties in Thiruvananthapuram district with two others having sustained injuries and receiving treatment at hospitals. A total of 28 houses have been completely damaged and 465 houses partially damaged in the district. Relief camp has been set up in Kadinakulam village.

In Kollam, three houses have been completely damaged and 90 homes partially damaged. One person is receiving medical treatment.

In Pathanamthitta, a nine-year old child died after a tree fell on him. Four houses have been completely damaged and 117 partially affected in the storm.

In Alappuzha, three persons died after drowning. A relief camp in Ambalapuzha North village has begun with 22 families accommodated there. Three homes have been completely damaged and 20 homes partially damaged.

In Kottayam, 68 houses have suffered partial damage with a family rehabilitated at a relief camp in the district.

In Idukki, considered a damage-prone district because of its high-range location, one person died of electrocution and another person has been reported missing. 9 homes have been completely damaged in the rains.

In Ernakulam district, no loss of life has been reported although one house suffered complete damage.

Thrissur district authorities say six homes have been ripped apart in the storms with 58 others experiencing partial damage. In Palakkad, seven houses have suffered partial damage.

In Malappuram district, two houses have suffered complete damage and 41 others partially wrecked.

In Kozhikode, one person died after a tree fell on him. Three houses have been wrecked in the rains. In Wayanad, another hilly district in the state, two kids have been reported having died of drowning. In Kannur, one person died in a tree-felling incident and another after a wall fell on him.

In Kasaragod district, two people have drowned. Two houses have suffered complete damage.

Compensation for families who reside in hilly areas and who have suffered loss of property will be Rs 1,01,900 from the revenue department and those in plains will be Rs 95,100 per family. Families living in houses within 50 metres of the sea which have been destroyed in high waves will be compensated with Rs 4 lakh. If they choose to move to another property outside of the 50-m limit, they can be compensated with Rs 6 lakh, the minister said. All the districts have been given Rs 50 lakh to deal with emergency measures, he added.

What the Met Department says

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) based in Thiruvananthapuram has warned of ‘heavy (7-11 cm in 24 hours) to very heavy rainfall (12-20 cm in 24 hours)’ across the state and Lakshwadeep islands over the next four days. Thunderstorms accompanied by gusty winds are expected across the state today.

Although a ban on trawling is in place, fishermen are still advised to be cautious while venturing into the sea as there are heavy winds from the westerly direction with speeds reaching 40-50 kmph gusting to 60 kmph along the coast of Karnataka, Kerala and Lakshwadeep. High waves are also expected along the state’s coast.

IMD has warned of ‘heavy (7-11 cm in 24 hours) to very heavy rainfall (12-20 cm in 24 hours)’ across Kerala (Source: IMD)

As of Monday, the IMD station at CIAL, Kochi recorded the highest rainfall (62.44 mm) in the state.

The IMD had said in a May 30 release that rainfall over the country as a whole for the 2018 southwest monsoon season is ‘most likely to be normal.’