Incessant heavy rains continued in Nagapattinam and Karaikal districts for the third consecutive day on Monday throwing normal life out of gear. Four persons died in Nagai and crops in thousands of acres lay submerged by rain water. A boat capsized near Kodiakarai, killing one fisherman. Another fisherman is reported missing.
During the past 24 hours ending 8:30am on Monday, Tarangambadi recorded the highest rainfall of 135mm followed by Thirupoondi - 123mm, Nagapattinam - 98.4mm, Thalainayar - 78mm, Sirkazhi - 65mm and Vedaranyam - 61mm. On a single day, the district registered a rainfall of 74 mm.
The rains have claimed four lives in Nagapattinam district so far. Keethivasan, a 42-year-old man at Peruncheri village near Kuthalam was hit by lightning and died. Elangovan (35) of Kuranguputhur village near Poompuhar died due to wall collapse. Pakkirisamy (52) of Melavenmani village near Kilvelur drowned in Vennaru river. The sea remained rough with high tides. A group of fishermen who ventured into sea on Sunday from Seruthur near Vedaranyam, faced strong winds and rough tides. Their boat capsized off the Kodiakarai coast on Sunday night. Arunachalam (50), a fisherman from Seruthur fell into the sea and has been reported missing. The other fishermen - Muruganandam (35), Ramakrishnan (45), and Panchanathan (50) tied themselves to the boat using a rope. On Monday morning, a boat that passed by, noticed them. However, Panchanathan was found dead. Muruganandam and Ramakrishnan were unconscious. The other fishermen rescued them and rushed them to the Vedaranyam government hospital.