Kerala's incessant rains and winds claimed its first casualty on Monday when a 58-year-old woman in Muvattupuzha died after a tree collapsed on her.
Thankamma, a resident of Kunnakkal in Valakom had stepped out of her house on Sunday evening to pick up firewood when a rubber tree, which collapsed due to the heavy winds, fell on her.
"The victim was out collecting firewood when the tree fell on her, injuring her head. She was rushed to Kolenchery Medical College Hospital around 6:30 pm and was admitted to the ICU. However, on Monday morning she succumbed to the injuries," said Muvattupuzha Senior Civil Police officer Shajan.
The victim was also brought to the Muvattupuzha Government Hospital for a postmortem. Thankamma is survived by her husband.
"There was a heavy spell of rains (around 7 cms) around Kochi and surrounding areas on Sunday. Over the past 24 hours, the rains have subsided. However, Thrissur, Perumbavoor and other districts received upto 4cm rains on Monday," said Sudevan of the IMD.
Kerala has been witnessing heavy rains together with strong winds ever since March 13 after a depression was formed in the Arabian Sea to the south of Kanyakumari.
"Although the big depression south of Kanyakumari has cleared, two more smaller low pressure zones (only upto 900 mts) have been observed. One of them lies between Lakshadweep and Kerala coast and the other is near Kanyakumari. This explains the untimely rains the state is receiving," he added.
After Cyclone Ockhi, which battered Kerala's coasts in December last year, the government has been on high alert and issuing warnings to fishermen along the coast in case of depressions in the region.