Rain fury: Cloudburst triggers heavy downpour in Kochi

Kochi: Life in several parts of Kochi came to a standstill as incessant rain left houses and roads flooded from Tuesday morning. The India Meteorological Department has sounded a yellow alert in Kochi on Tuesday. Experts from the Cochin University of Science and Technology (Cusat) said a cloud burst triggered heavy rain in the Kalamassery area.
S Abhilash, associate professor at Cusat said that the rain gauge installed on the campus recorded 98.4 mm rainfall within one hour and 30 minutes.

Traffic was disrupted on almost all roads in the commercial capital of the state due to the waterlogged. In the visuals aired on TV channels, long traffic snarl-ups were seen on busy roads including Edappally, Vyttila, Kaloor, Tripunithura and Kadavanthra.

Manorama News reported that traffic was blocked for more than an hour. Though the rain has receded, major roads continue to see traffic snarl-ups. In some places, people were seen alighting from buses and walking through the flooded roads.

Vazhakkala market was completely flooded forcing the vendors to shut shops. In Tripunithura, people said blocked drains caused severe waterlogging on roads. Though some people tried to clear the drains, they alleged that dumping of waste including diapers completely clogged the drains which were constructed unscientifically. “There are no manholes to clear the drains. Lapses of the corporation led to the waterlogging in the area,” a youth here told Manorama News.

Noted writer Dr M Leelavathy's house at Thrikkakkara pipeline was also submerged. Many books were damaged with water seeping into the shelves. With the water level rising, the elderly writer moved to her son's house.