Intense rainfall swept through southern parts of Tamil Nadu on Monday morning, prompting the government to declare 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.
Tiruchendur and Sattankulam stations in Thoothukudi district registered 606 mm of rainfall in the last 24 hours, while Palayamkottai station in Tirunelveli recorded 260 mm of rainfall.
The IMD issued a red alert until 10 am this morning for certain areas in Madurai, Virudhunagar, and Theni districts. Simultaneously, an orange alert has been declared for isolated places in Thoothukudi, Dindigul, Coimbatore, and Thiruppur districts.
As per an ANI report, 40 lakes in the Kovilpatti area have reached full capacity.
Landslides were reported in Ooty due to the heavy rainfall in the Nilgiris district.
“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.
