After attending the Easter mass, Ancy and her seven family members were asleep when a monstrous wave inundated their home in Pozhiyoor near Poovar in Thiruvananthapuram. Everything they had set aside for an Easter feast, along with their meager possessions, was swept away as seawater surged into their house on Sunday. Hastily gathering whatever they could, they fled to safety to preserve their lives.
"It was like a tsunami. We had no warnings from the authorities, and everything we had had gone with the water," Ancy told PTI.
Over 100 families in Pozhiyoor saw their homes damaged, with some facing permanent loss, as the waves wreaked havoc. Additionally, fishermen suffered significant losses as the waves damaged their boats and fishing nets.
In Kollam, frustrated locals took to blocking the Mundakkal-Eravipuram coastal road and cooked their food on the roadside due to water inundating their homes. Residents voiced their grievances, stating that they have been enduring this issue for the past three months without respite.
In Thiruvananthapuram, Kulathoor Gram Panchayat president Geetha Suresh told PTI, "The monstrous waves continued to pound, flooding the entire area in Pozhiyoor and nearby areas for over five hours. The situation is getting worse as the waves are still very powerful and even climbing over the half-seawall constructed at Pozhiyoor."
On Sunday, the renowned tourist destination of Poovar and its surrounding areas were submerged underwater. While the water levels have since receded, massive waves persist in battering the shoreline.
On Monday, authorities warned fishermen and tourists from Dhanushkodi due to the high tide condition.
As of now, there is still no scientific explanation to elucidate this abrupt phenomenon, especially during a season not typically associated with such rough sea conditions.