Chennai, Dec 18
Heavy rainfall lashed southern parts of Tamil Nadu on Monday morning even as the government declared a holiday for all schools, colleges and banks in four districts — Tirunelveli, Thoothukudi, Kanyakumari and Tenkasi. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a ‘heavy rain alert’ for the state for the next seven days.
While Tiruchendur and Sattankulam stations in Thoothukudi district recorded 606 mm of rainfall in the past 24 hours, Palayamkottai station located in Tirunelveli recorded 260 mm of rainfall.
The IMD had declared a red alert over a few places in Madurai, Virudhunagar and Theni districts till 10 am this morning. Meanwhile, an orange alert has been issued by the weather agency over isolated places in Thoothukudi, Dindigul, Coimbatore and Thiruppur districts. According to an media report, 40 lakes in the Kovilpatti area have reached their full capacity. “40 lakes in Kovilpatti Panchayat are full.
Two lakes were damaged and we repaired them. We are continuously monitoring other lakes too. If there is a breach in the lake, we are ready to fix it immediately,” said Rajesh, District Development Officer, Thoothukkudi district.
A video shared by media showed the Courtallam and Manimutharu Waterfalls overflowing due to excess rains in Tirunelveli district.
Incidents of landslides were reported from Ooty due to heavy rains lashing the Nilgiris district. Union Minister Dr L. Murugan oversaw the clearing of the landslide at Ooty Mettupalayam road. Flash floods were reported in many places in Thoothukudi. Efforts to rectify breaches in water bodies were carried out by district administration.
Heavy rain lashes several parts of #TamilNadu; IMD issues heavy rain alert for next seven days.
“As a precautionary measure, 250 State Disaster Response Forces (SDRF) and the National Disaster Response Force have been deployed in Kanyakumari, Tirunelveli, Tuticorin and Tenkasi districts. A few more members of the State Disaster Response Force will arrive in Tenkasi district today.
Even I will be visiting the flood-affected areas,” said Tamil Nadu’s Minister for Revenue and Disaster Management, KKSSR Ramachandran.
“The Tamil Nadu Chief Minister has advised us (the Minister and IAS officers) to be on the spot and take necessary measures to ensure people’s safety,” he said.
Relief camps have been set up in various districts to aid the people affected by the rains, including 19 in Tirunelveli, four camps in Kanyakumari, two camps in Thoothukudi and one camp in Tenkasi district.
