Railway officials clearing the track, near Areekkad, in Kozhikode on Tuesday after a tree fell on the track and the electric line over it, disrupting traffic for hours on Tuesday morning.
| Photo Credit: K. Ragesh

For the fourth consecutive day, heavy rain lashed parts of the State, disrupting the normal flow of life on Tuesday since the onset of the southwest monsoon. The strong wind that accompanied the rain left widespread destruction across the State, although the intensity of rain was relatively low on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, a fresh low pressure formed over the Northwest Bay of Bengal off the Odisha coast. The system is likely to move slowly northwards and become more marked during the next 48 hours. This, along with the prevailing strong westerlies at lower tropospheric levels over Kerala and Lakshadweep region is likely to trigger some intense spells of rains for the next five days.

IMD alerts

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued a red alert for Kozhikode and Wayanad districts, warning of extreme rainfall, and an orange alert for the remaining districts forecasting very heavy rains, except Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam and Alappuzha, where a yellow alert has been issued with warnings of isolated heavy rains. Meanwhile, the heavy rain that had been pummelling the State for the past days abated slightly, bringing respite to people facing the fury of the monsoon, especially in north and central Kerala.

However, rain-related woes and rough sea remained unabated. Train traffic was disrupted for the third consecutive day in various parts of the State after uprooted trees and roofing sheets of houses fell onto the railway tracks in the rain accompanied by heavy wind on Monday night and early Tuesday morning. Rail traffic was disrupted for more than six hours on the Nallalam-Areekad railway track in Kozhikode.

Train traffic was also disrupted for about four hours on the Ernakulam section after branches of a banyan tree fell onto the railway track around 8 p.m. on Monday night, near Ambattukavu Metro Station in Ernakulam, and damaged the overhead electric lines that supply electricity to trains. Several trains were rescheduled.

KSEB’s losses

According to available data, the distribution sector of the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) has sustained a loss of ₹56.77 crore after around 1,596 high-tension posts and 10,573 low-tension posts were damaged in the rain and wind.

The extensive damage was mainly caused by fallen trees. Electricity Minister K. Krishnankutty urged the State government to issue necessary instructions to the District Collectors to remove the fallen trees or cut down trees posing danger to public life under the Disaster Management Act.

Around 14 relief camps have been opened in the State in the wake of heavy rain, accommodating around 240 people from 71 families.

Meanwhile, Thalassery and Ayyankunnu in Kannur recorded the highest rainfall of 17 cm each during the last 24 hours ending at 8.30 a.m. on Tuesday, followed by Peerumedu in Idukki and Vythiri in Wayanad with 16 cm each.