Heavy rain and flash floods wreak havoc in Thiruvananthapuram

THIRUVANATHAPURAM: Heavy rain caused flash floods in the capital district, forcing hundreds out of their homes on Friday. Many parts of the city experienced flash floods when major rivers, including Karamana and Killi rivers, overflowed. The rain also caused widespread property damage.
While two houses were destroyed - one at Poonthura in the city and the other at Nedumangad - as many as 111 houses suffered partial damages.Areas under Thiruvananthapuram taluk limits suffered most damages. Over 150 houses were flooded with water.
District administration authorities said that Karamana River overflowed after the shutter of Aruvikkara dam was raised on Friday morning around 7am when the water level rose dangerously. Following this, the district administration also issued a warning to the people residing along the banks of Karamana River. Killi River overflowed owing to heavy rain that continued for hours.
The district administration opened relief camps at Thirumala, Manacaud and Nemom villages to relocate people from flooded houses. As many as 154 people were shifted to these camps. Besides this, around 85 families at Karakkad Lane at Jagathy had to shift to their relatives' residences as the water level of Killi River did not recede till evening.
Fire and rescue services personnel utilized inflatable rubber boats to save people who were trapped in houses next to overflowing rivers as well as low lying regions that got inundated with rainwater. Most number of people was trapped in Mudavanmugal region, lying close to Karamana River. Here, fire officials saved as many as 19 persons, including children and senior citizens. This include, actor Mallika Sukumaran, who resided at Mudavanmugal. All of them were ferried from their houses to higher grounds using the boats.