Incessant rains disrupt life in Kerala

Thiruvananthapuram: After a brief lull, incessant rains accompanied by gusty winds pounded several parts of Kerala on Tuesday, disrupting normal life. South and central districts like Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Kottayam, and Ernakulam mainly bore the brunt of the continuous downpour, which caused waterlogging, damage to houses, trees to be uprooted and tiny water bodies to overflow cutting across towns and villages.

With the rain getting intense, the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) placed Kottayam and Ernakulam districts under red alert today. An orange alert was sounded in Pathanamthitta, Alappuzha, and Idukki, while Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Thrissur, Palakkad, Malappuram, and Kozhikode were placed under a yellow alert, as per the latest IMD update.

Experts said cloudburst could be the reason for the heavier rainfall that pounded various parts of the port city of Kochi, especially the Kalamassery region, where flood water entered hundreds of houses. Many narrow lanes and busy roads in Kochi and adjacent areas were submerged due to continuous downpours since early morning.