Thiruvananthapuram:
The heavy and unexpected rainfall which hit the city on Christmas Eve ruined the celebrations. Not just the low-lying areas, all major areas in the city were inundated in the rain, which began at 5.50 pm. There was a heavy 8-cm rainfall, which lasted one-and-a-half hours.
Motorists and commuters had a tough time as flash floods hit Thampanoor and East Fort. Other areas such as Jagathy, Edapazhanji, Maruthamkuzhi, Attakulangara-Killipalam Bypass, Palkulangara etc. were submerged. With waste disposal being a major problem in the city, flash floods have raised the possibility of the spread of diseases.
Surprisingly, except Thiruvananthapuram city, Nedumangad and Neyyattinkara, no other place in the State received rainfall on Saturday. The Meteorological Department points to the presence of a depression in Bay of Bengal as the reason for the unexpected rainfall.
"An easterly wave travelled towards the southern peninsular region and formed a cumino-nimbus cloud over this region. It was difficult to track its path on the radar," said K Santhosh, Met Director.
The Met has predicted thundershowers in the coming two days in Thiruvananthapuram.
Interestingly, Geology cafe, a Facebook group of geologists, had organised an awareness programme on flash floods in the city on Saturday. "We were caught in flash floods by the end of the programme," said K P Jaikiran, a member.
There was an exhibition of photographs throwing light into the reason behind flash floods in the city. Jaikiran and his team were surprised over the fact that there was no concrete-free land for the water to sink in. "Also, the drains were filled with waste. The condition of Amayizhanjan canal is horrible," he said.