Heavy rain and high tide caused waterlogging in Kochi

Kochi: Several parts of Panampilly Nagar, Kalabhavan Road, Karithala Colony near Ambedkar Stadium, Ravipuram, Kadavanthra, MG Road, Ernakulam South and Ernakulam North were waterlogged on the intervening night of Friday and Saturday due to high tide and an intense spell of rain.

Fire force in Gandhinagar and Club Road received a few calls from residents about tree branches falling on the road. No one was injured in rain-related incidents.

According to the data from India Meteorological Department (IMD), the rain gauge station at Durbar Hall Ground recorded 7.3cm rainfall in 45 minutes at midnight. As the tide was rising at midnight along the coastal city and the sea was not receiving rainwater, many parts of Kochi faced waterlogging, forcing residents to remain awake. Marks of floodwater level rise were also visible on the compound walls.

As the floodwater entered some of the houses in city, residents waited until low tide drained the water to start cleaning.

It was most severe in Ravipuram area, while all the interior roads in Panampilly Nagar were under floodwater as the drains and Perandoor Thevara Canal could not carry the water to the sea due to high tide.

“Once the high tide started to decline, floodwater also started to recede. It was severe in Indira Nagar in Kadavanthra,” said Gison George, division councillor.

Ravipuram councillor S Sasikala said waterlogging in her division was quite unexpected. “Floodwater was overflowing from Panampilly Nagar and MG Road to Ravipuram area, leaving all roads under water. There are around 10 culverts in my division. Of them, four have been cleaned. But the waterlogging in the night was due to heavy rainfall added to high tide. On Saturday, workers were busy clearing all the blockages in the drains,” she said.

Anjana Rajesh, former councillor of Panampilly Nagar, said when the floodwater entered the compound of houses, it entered water tanks and septic tanks, causing inconvenience to residents.

Meanwhile, the DH Ground rain gauge station recorded a total of 9cm rainfall between 8.30am on Friday and 5.30am on Saturday. However, IMD officials said 1.7cm rainfall was received till 11.30pm. But between 12am and 12.45am, DH station recorded 7.3cm intense rainfall in 45 minutes. Above 7cm rainfall in 24 hours is considered heavy rainfall.