Thrivikramji Imaged Storm of 7th Onam, 1981

The storm that lashed on the shore between Alappad and Ambalapuzha in the early hours of 7th Onam, 1981 wreaked a havoc resulting in huge loss of material and savings of relatively poor fisherfolk families. A blacksand rich area of Kerala. All pictures do show the enriched black sand accumulation after the storm. Nly view.

Wavy bed form perhaps an antidune form characteristic of upper flow regime.

Seawall meant to p[protect the back shore property was also severely damaged and dismembered by the rushing seawater. You notice a team of workers engaged in re stacking the seawall. Sly view.

The beach face with a well formed berm was flattened by erosion and a large portion of sediment was washed to back shore. Nly view.

Notice leveled backshore by deposition of a new layer of beach sediment.

The cut opened pit shows a measure of the newly deposited sand dominated by black opaques like ilmenite and magnetite.

Silhouette of a small kid from the scene of devastation- The suffering probably is ever lasting for him and others of his age. What is recommended is a policy and plan of building multi-family-multistory- housing on concrete stilts for this section of the society and at least 500 m away from the modern shore line.

Flattened beach face and berm. Sand has high levels of balcksand content. Sly view.

Another site and view. Sand has high levels of balcksand content. Sly view.

The long and nearly straight bluff suggests that on the previous night too sea was not quiet. Sly view.

Another view of newly leveled back shore. Nly view.

The rectangular stone monument erected by KERI is a marker for gauging the addition of new land or erosional loss and removal of beach sand and land. Sly view.

Matted arrangement of white and black sand grains due to backshore heading flow.

Plane bed like feature in the newly added layer during the storm.

Interestingly the wash-over of sediment was not very intense in this segment of the back shore. Nly view.

A newly deposited and relatively long wash over fan

Small was hover fan- signature of back shore flooding

Sand with water rushed into the one room thatched houses with thatch screens substituting for wall. The living quarters inside in large number of such houses were covered with an extra layer of sand of occassionally one foot thick which buried occasionally valubles. Sly view.

Newly added layer of black sand after the storm exposed in a cut open pit

A washover fan with ripples. Pen (4 ” long) for scale. The white sand occurs in the troughs between the ripple crests

A washover fan with ripples. Pen (4 ” long) for scale. The white sand occurs in the troughs between the ripple crests

Flow spilts around a solid object- here a lime shell. But very rich in black sand.

Bivalve shells splits the flow that occurs in a thin layer. But very rich in black sand.