The heavy rains that lashed Kerala for the fifth straight day on May 19 brought stormwater surging into hundreds of homes, bus stations, shops, markets, and offices in low-lying areas.
The situation was particularly fraught in localities abutting canals in Ernakulam and Kozhikode. Rushing water sluiced through ground floors, swamped roads, and entire neighbourhoods.
Flood-hit residents had a tough time carrying their belongings to the upper floors of their homes or nearby higher ground. The spectre of water-borne diseases loomed. The authorities are evacuating people in some flood-prone localities to relief camps.
