Kochi Cloud Burst: Extremely Heavy Rainfall Leads To Water Logging, Traffic Snarl; IMD Issues Red Alert

After a cloud busted in Kerala's Kochi, several parts of the region faced flash floods leading to problems like water logging and traffic snarl. Heavy rain caused difficulties and disturbed the lives of the people living in Kochi. Cusat Advanced Centre for Atmospheric Radar Research director S Abhilash reported that "the rain gauge at Cusat recorded 98.5 mm rainfall between 9.10 am and 10.10 am."

Officials reported that the city has experienced heavy rains leading up to the onset of the Southwest Monsoon. According to IMD data, the monsoon is expected to begin in Kerala on June 1.

State Minister K Rajan informed the media that the central Kerala region has seen particularly heavy rainfall and authorities and relief teams are working to evacuate people stuck and trying to clear the water logging. He added that the state government has ordered to set up around 3,597 relief camps, where nearly five lakh people can be accommodated.

In the Palluruthi area of Ernakulam district, 95 mm of rainfall was recorded within one and a half hours, an unusual occurrence. At the same time, the Kalamassery area received 57 mm of rainfall.

"Around 8.30 am, an inboard engine country craft which ventured into the sea for fishing was caught in high waves and capsized near Saude church between Fort Kochi and Kannamali. The fishermen who were initially caught in the waves managed to swim to safety. The fishermen were wearing life jackets and this has helped them escape the strong waves and swim to the shore," said Wilfred Manuel, a driver at Fort Kochi.

Earlier, the Indian Metalogical Department (IMD) had issued a red alert for Ernakulam and Kottayam districts, which means very heavy rain to extremely heavy rain is likely to happen. The weather monitoring department also issued an orange alert for some regions indicating heavy to very heavy rain between 115.6 mm to 204.4 mm may fall.