Kerala rains: Cloudburst-like heavy rainfall pummels Kochi

Kerala rains: Cloudburst-like heavy rainfall pummels Kochi

Normal life was brought to its knees by a spell of heavy, incessant rain akin to a cloudburst accompanied by strong winds that lasted a couple of hours in Kochi in Ernakulam district of Kerala on May 28 morning.

The episode left roads and houses in many pockets inundated, damaged three houses partially and left motorists stranded across Kochi city as traffic was brought to a grinding halt.

Subsequently, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) scaled up the alert for Ernakulam district from ‘yellow’ to ‘red’ warning of extremely heavy rainfall in some areas.

The automated weather station on the campus of the Cochin University of Science and Technology (Cusat) at Kalamassery measured the rainfall at 98.4 mm during an hour from 9 a.m. on May 28.

“Rainfall of 100 mm during an hour is qualified as cloudburst. The heavy spell of rain will continue on and off for the next couple of days under the influence of Cyclone Remal. The westerly wind has also strengthened, dragging increased vapour from the Arabian Sea towards the land,” said S. Abhilash, director, Advanced Centre for Atmospheric Radar Research, Cusat.

Kalamassery municipality area received 150 mm rainfall during a three-hour period, while Palluruthy received 98 mm, Choondi 54 mm and Mattancherry 34.5 mm rainfall during the period.

The IT hub at Infopark Kochi at Thrikkakara was one of the worst affected as the campus and roads leading to the park were fully flooded. Employees headed to the park in two-wheelers and four-wheelers had a tough time navigating almost knee-high waters.