Tamil Nadu is bracing for more trouble with the Met Department predicting further rain over the next five days.
The state government has put the death toll so far, due to rains, at five.
State Revenue and Disaster Management Minister KKSSR Ramachandran said that water is being pumped out of low-lying areas after a lull in rainfall on Tuesday. He said that rescue operations are underway by the NDRF, army, and Fire Department personnel.
Across the state, educational institutions in 14 districts have had to suspend classes due to the continued rainfall.
A depression is expected to form over the southeast and southwest Bay of Bengal due to cyclonic circulation gathering strength over the area, and the Met Department expects it to hit the coast of north Tamil Nadu in the next 36 hours.
Under its influence, a low-pressure area is very likely to form over the southeast Bay of Bengal and neighbourhood during the next 24 hours. It is likely to move west-northwestwards, concentrate into a depression and reach near north Tamil Nadu coast by November 11 early morning and bring widespread rainfall in several regions of the state, the bulletin said.
Fairly widespread to widespread light to moderate rainfall is possible across Tamil Nadu, south coastal Andhra Pradesh, and Kerala, over the next five days, the Met Department has said.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued red alerts for Pudukkottai, Ramanathapuram, Karaikal for Tuesday. Similarly, red alerts have been sounded for Cuddalore, Viluppuram, Sivaganga, Ramanathapuram and Karaikal, on Wednesday.
On Thursday, Thiruvallur, Chennai, Kanchipuram, Chengalpattu, Viluppuram and Tiruvannamalai, have been put on red alert.
Meanwhile, fishermen have been warned against venturing into the sea off Tamil Nadu, southern Andhra Pradesh, and towards the Sri Lankan coast.
(with agency inputs)