Thiruvananthapuram | Heavy monsoon rains and strong winds that swept across Kerala last week have caused widespread damage to the state's power infrastructure, officials said on Monday.

The Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) reported that 3,153 high-tension poles and 23,339 low-tension poles were damaged, along with 2,826 high-tension lines and 61,637 low-tension lines.

The damage led to power outages for over 81.99 lakh consumers.

Electricity has been restored to more than 76.35 lakh people so far, KSEB said.

The estimated loss to the power distribution sector stands at around Rs 164.46 crore, it said.

The heavy rain and flooding, which began late last week, forced many to evacuate their homes and disrupted life in several districts.