Kochi water tank collapse: Tremors, shocks, and soaked dreams as Thammanam residents reel from sudden flooding
A major water tank collapse in the Thammanam area of Kochi in the early hours of Monday (November 10, 2025) led to water gushing into the nearby houses, damaging vehicles and property.
| Photo Credit: H. Vibhu
When a sudden tremor-like jolt and a wet floor startled Rahul Raghunath, 32, from his sleep around 2:30 a.m. on Monday (November 10, 2025), for a fleeting moment he feared whether “the Mullaperiyar dam has burst.”
Still gripped by fear and half-asleep, he was jolted fully awake. Thankfully, he had the presence of mind to switch off a soaked extension cord lying on the floor. He rushed outside, only to find his neighbourhood flooded.
“I was left wondering whether this was the watery grave everyone has been warning about for years. After getting over that scare, I started thinking whether I had forgotten to switch off the motor the previous night, causing an overflow,” recalls Rahul, a freelance video editor living in a rented house on Kulathingal Bava Road in the Thammanam division of Kochi Corporation. He says he lost his computer, worth about ₹1 lakh, in the incident.
A flood-like situation unfolded after a massive amount of water gushed out following a breach in the Kerala Water Authority’s (KWA) over-four-decade-old water storage tank in Thammanam, inundating the immediate neighbourhood and affecting more than 20 houses.
Rahul’s nephews, Aadhi Krishna, 9, and Adhithi Krishna, 11, who were sleeping on the floor in their mother’s room, also woke up drenched. “The room was full of water and my feet were submerged,” says Aadhi, taking a break from cleaning the house to share her experience.
The house of Judith George, 63, a resident of the area since 1956, located right next to the water tank, bore the brunt of the impact. The compound wall had collapsed and been washed away. A car belonging to her tenant parked outside the wall was partially crushed under the debris. Two-wheelers lay soaked in mud, and a temporary shed had been uprooted, with the water motor flung outside.
A major water tank collapse in the Thammanam area of Kochi in the early hours of Monday (November 10, 2025) led to water gushing into the nearby houses, damaging vehicles and property.
| Photo Credit:
H. Vibhu
‘A water bomb’
She was sleeping on the first floor along with her married daughter and grandchildren when what she describes as a “water bomb” hit. “In the past, our compound wall was destroyed twice due to overflows from the tank, but the damage was never this severe. Refrigerator, washing machine, inverter, furniture, everything is gone,” she laments.
Kairali Appukuttan, 65, experienced water gushing into her house at the far end of Kulathingal Bava Road. She woke up in the middle of the night to use the washroom and slipped her feet onto the floor — only to find them instantly soaked. “There was a sound as if an earthquake had struck. We tried to rush outside but couldn’t open the door initially due to the pressure of the water against it,” she recalls.
Outside, her husband’s autorickshaw — recently serviced at a cost of around ₹12,000 ahead of Monday’s fitness test — stood damaged.
The Urban Family Healthcare Centre at Kuthapady in the neighbourhood was also flooded. “As per initial assessment, we lost medicines and equipment, and suffered damage worth around ₹4 lakh to ₹5 lakh,” says Dr. Ann Joseph.
P.V. Sajeevan walked around his autorickshaw, which had been parked opposite the centre and now lay submerged. “The engine’s damaged. This was my only means of livelihood,” he says.
Published – November 10, 2025 02:50 pm IST