Widespread damage was caused by a sudden gustnado in at least three places in Kasaragod taluk on Monday morning.
According to Prem G. Prakash, hazard analyst, District Emergency Operations Centre, at least 25 houses were damaged and a few persons sustained minor injuries in the weather phenomenon that occurred around 3 a.m. Hundreds of trees were uprooted and plantation crops were destroyed at Neerchal, Bela, and Kumbadaje.
Mr. Prakash said that gustnado was a disaster notified by the State government. . It has not been reported in Kasaragod during monsoon in a long time, he added.
Local people said there were strong winds and rain at night, right after which the gustnado struck. Around 300 banana plants and arecanut trees were destroyed. Local Self-Government department officials, public representatives, and revenue officials visited the place and ascertained the situation.
Stadium collapses
Meanwhile, West Chalakudy in Thrissur witnessed a whirlwind on Monday. Roofs of houses were blown away and trees were uprooted in the wind that lasted only a few minutes. Thrissur district has witnessed more than half a dozen such winds in the past few months. Power supply was disrupted as electric posts fell. The whirlwind occurred around 3.30 a.m. in areas near the Chalakudy river. The stadium of CMI Public School, Chalakudy, collapsed in the wind. A banyan tree, believed to be more than 100 years old, at Siva Temple, Monippally, was uprooted. A few sheds on the temple campus too collapsed.
(With inputs from Thrissur bureau)
