Kannamaly reels under heavy flooding

18 houses affected; people move to relief camp, relatives’ homes

Kannamaly and Cheriyakadavu in the coastal panchayat of Chellanam are the worst affected in flooding over the past two days as weather conditions, including spells of heavy winds, have triggered high waves.

President of the Chellanam panchayat K.L. Joseph said 18 houses in Kannamaly and Cheriyakadavu areas had been affected by flooding over the past two days. Six people have taken shelter in a relief camp opened at the parish hall of the Kannamaly Forane Church, the panchayat president said. He also said that people were not willing to shift to the relief camp owing to the difficulties in staying at the camp and most of the affected people had moved to houses of their relatives.

Kannamaly is an open coast with no seawalls to prevent flooding. It would have been possible to erect sand bags before the rains. However, it may not be possible now because dredging sand from the sea would be difficult under the current sea conditions, he added.

V.T. Sebastian of Chellanam-Fort Kochi Janakiya Vedhi, a group demanding comprehensive sea protection measures between Chellanam and Fort Kochi, said that those affected by flooding were not willing to move to the relief camp. He said Revenue department officials had distributed food to the affected households.

He warned that any cyclonic storm will make things worse for the coastal residents even as heavy rain continued to lash the village. He said flooding was severe between 5 p.m. and 5.15 p.m. as the high tide began on Wednesday.

In the meanwhile, president of Kerala Region Latin Catholic Council Bishop Joseph Kariyil has written to Irrigation Minister Roshy Augustine appealing for immediate steps to protect the lives and property of the coastal people and to initiate measures for defence against sea erosion and flooding.

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) workers, under the leadership of convener of the Kochi constituency Basil Peter, deployed an earth moving machine on Wednesday to erect a sand wall in the Kannamaly area. However, the work was stopped in the afternoon as flooding began in high tide. A communication from the AAP alleged here that the Irrigation department was not taking any action to prevent sea erosion in the area.