Three houses destroyed, 12 damaged in cyclone-like wind in coastal Chellanam panchayat in Kochi
One of the houses was damaged following a cyclone-like incident at Chellanam in Kochi in the early hours of Thursday.
Three houses were destroyed and 12 more houses were damaged on the seashore in ward 21 of Chellanam grama panchayat in Ernakulam district after being hit by cyclone-like wind in the early hours of Thursday, March 12, 2026.
The roofs of many houses were blown off due to strong wind hitting the beach south of Chellanam panchayat office around 01.15 am. The sudden incident shocked the sleeping families.
One of the houses was damaged following a cyclone-like incident at Chellanam in Kochi in the early hours of Thursday.
VT Sebastian, convener of Chellanam-Kochi Janakeeya Vedhi, said, “Most of these houses were earlier affected by sea erosion and were repaired by the families and made habitable. Now they need to find resources to repair the houses again.”
scary roar
Residents of the area said that the frightening roar of the wind dragged even those sleeping in shrimp farms within a 1.5 km radius to the scene. Aluminum roofs blown away by the wind were found scattered on the nearby tetrapod walkway.
Ward 21 member Medona Caroline said the panchayat will hold an emergency meeting to assess the situation and discuss relief measures. “Families whose houses were destroyed moved in with their relatives, while others stay in undamaged parts of their houses. The panchayat distributed food to the affected families,” he said.
Mr Sebastian added that the recurrence of such unnatural events has become worrying. Fishermen involved in deep-sea fishing also reported hurricane-like conditions where water was pushed upward in eddies.
sea erosion
Chellanam residents have long been demanding a permanent solution to sea erosion of the coastline. After a long delay, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan launched the second phase of tetrapod-based seawall construction covering the remaining 6.1 km on March 7, 2026, with an investment of ₹404 crore. The first phase of the project, covering an area of 7.3 km from Chellanam to Puthenthode, was completed at a cost of ₹347 crore.
Chellanam remains the worst-affected district among the 10 identified hotspots of sea erosion in Kerala.
It was published – 12 March 2026 16:21 IST
