Houses inundated in Kochi as KWA twin-chamber tank bursts

Drinking water supply to 30% of areas within the Kochi Corporation and adjoining local bodies was hit, and properties worth lakhs were damaged after one chamber of a twin-chamber water storage tank of the Kerala Water Authority (KWA) at Thammanam caved in, reportedly due to ageing, flooding the immediate neighbourhood in the early hours of Monday (November 10, 2025).

Compound walls collapsed and were washed away for several metres as the more than four-decade-old tank breached and water gushed into nearby houses, destroying household equipment, furniture, and vehicles. Casualties were averted as the disaster occurred in the early morning hours when the streets were deserted. In addition to the Corporation, water supply to the Cheranalloor panchayat and parts of Thripunithura and Pettah remains severely affected.

An excavator clears debris from a damaged house.
| Photo Credit:
H.VIBHU

A portion of the pump house caved in, draining water through fissures around 2.30 a.m. The twin-chamber tank, with a capacity of 1.35 crore litres, contained 1.15 crore litres of water at the time of the collapse. The pump house supplies water to areas within the Corporation limits, Thripunithura, and Cheranalloor. Minister for Water Resources Roshy Augustine visited the site and said steps had been taken to prevent disruption of water supply. He expressed optimism that the supply would be restored by Tuesday (November 11, 2025.

Ten houses, the Corporation’s family health centre, and a godown bore the brunt of the collapse. Initial estimates place the damage at around ₹12 lakh. A meeting chaired by the Minister decided to initiate follow-up action based on reports from the District Disaster Management Authority and the District Collector. The Managing Director of the KWA is expected to arrive in the city on Tuesday to coordinate the response.

The water tank is located along the Thammanam–Ponnurunni Road near the Ponnurunni bridge. Water continued to gush from the breached chamber for nearly an hour, washing soil and sludge into several houses.

Debris from collapsed compound walls and buildings rendered Kulathingal Bava Road, near the tank, unusable. Though sand piles and sludge in front of houses were cleared using excavators, it will take time for the road to be fully restored.

Residents said houses were inundated by overflow from the tank a decade ago and that they had raised safety concerns about the structure. Reportedly, the KWA did not act on those warnings. Experts from Cochin University of Science and Technology and the KWA inspected the tank to assess, among other factors, the structural stability of the remaining chamber.

A house at Thammanam in Kochi severely damaged after the collapse of the water tank.
| Photo Credit:
H.VIBHU

Minister for Industries P. Rajeeve, MLAs Uma Thomas and T.J. Vinod, Mayor M. Anilkumar, and District Collector G. Priyanka visited the site.