While the intensity of the rains gradually decreased in Kerala on Tuesday, families hit by heavy inundation were shifted to relief camps and people staged a protest by blocking road using a country boat to press for a solution to waterlogging and sea incursion.
People waded through hip-level water in Kannamaly and they had to tackle damage caused by high tidal waves.
Kannamaly, a fishing hamlet in Ernakulam district, witnessed protests by locals on Tuesday demanding a permanent solution to the long-standing issues of waterlogging and coastal erosion.
They blocked a road with a country boat, fishing nets and logs as a mark of protest.
A number of houses were also damaged following high tidal waves, the residents said.
According to local people, widespread destruction was reported along the coastal belt due to high tidal waves and sea incursion.
Several families living in low-lying regions were shifted to relief camps in various districts as floodwaters failed to recede from their homes.
In a welcome relief, the intensity of the rain decreased and there is no forecast for extremely heavy rainfall anywhere in Kerala as per the latest update of the Kerala Disaster Management Authority.
"In fact, rainfall intensity is decreasing," according a latest update.
The India meteorological department predicted moderate to light rainfall in one or two places on Wednesday.
Almost all schools and public roads in Kuttanad taluk in coastal Alappuzha district were waterlogged, and a holiday has been declared for all educational institutions, including colleges on Wednesday, authorities said.
According to official figures, three relief camps were set up in Kottayam district and 12 in Thrissur, where one house was destroyed completely and 11 others damaged partially. -- PTI
