Heavy rains lash Kerala;extensive damage in coastal areas

Heavy rains lashed various parts of central and southern districts of Kerala, causing extensive damage in coastal areas.
Rains and rough seas caused damage to hundreds of houses in coastal areas in the state capital, Alappuzha and Ernakulam districts, official sources said.
Authorities have given directions to evacuate people in low lying areas, where reports of houses being damaged have come in. Relief camps have also been opened to shift the affected people in these areas, they said.
Police said water entered many houses in Valiyathura, Adimalathura and Cheriyathura near here and steps were already on to shift the affected people to relief camps.

The meteorological centre here said heavy rains, (exceeding seven cm) to very heavy rainfall (exceeding 13 cm) is most likely to occur at one or two places in Kerala till May 19 morning.
The state disaster management authority here said the heavy rains was not due to the likely onset of south west monsoon, but because of the low pressure formed in the Bay of Bengal.

(REOPENS MDS2)
In Veliyathura in Thiruvananthapuram outskirts, angry
residents squatted on roads blocking traffic demanding construction of sea wall to prevent their houses being affected.
'No leaders, no government official, no police came to see us', they said.

In the fishing villages of Poonthura, Veliyathura, Pozhiyur, Adimalathura due to rough sea, houses were destroyed and fishing equipment washed away, Kerala Swatantra Matsya Thozhilali Federation Secretariate meeting said and demanded immediate compensation to the affected families. Reports received here said at least 220 houses of fishermen were destroyed in Alapuzha and they had been asked to go to camps.
Chief amounts of rainfall recorded at 8.30 am today in mm Thiruvananthapuram city 66.8, Thiruvananthapuram Airport 31.6, Punalur 45.3 and Alapuzha 58.