CHENNAI: A total of 11 people have lost their lives in rain-related incidents in the last five days between May 16 and 20 in places where heavy rains lashed. One person died in Cuddalore district due to lightning and thunder, while another person died in flash floods in Kanyakumari district.
According to a statement from the Revenue Department about the status of rain in various places at 8.30 a.m. on Tuesday, 37 districts received an average rainfall of 1.77 cm. Namakkal district received the highest rainfall of 7.12 cm. In the past 24 hours, 12 cattle died and 24 huts/houses were damaged due to rain. In Erode, Namakkal and Karur districts, 469 people were given shelter in relief camps and they returned home after the rains stopped.
On a normal course, Tamil Nadu receives 12.5 cm of rain during the summer between March and May. This year, between March 1 and May 20, the State received 9.63 cm of rain. This is 7% less than the normal rainfall.
Meanwhile, the meteorological department has forecast heavy rains in 16 districts on Tuesday. On Wednesday, heavy rains are expected in four southern districts- Theni, Tenkasi, Tirunelveli and Kanyakumari districts. On Thursday, a heavy rain forecast has been made for six districts - Kanyakumari, Tirunelveli, Tenkasi, Krishnagiri, Dharmapuri and Tirupattur districts. On Friday, heavy rains are expected in the Nilgiris and Kanyakumari districts.
The official release said SMS has been sent to 4.05 crore mobile phones as per the Common Alert Protocol in the districts of Kanyakumari, Tirunelveli, Tenkasi, Dindigul, Coimbatore, the Nilgiris, Virudhunagar and Theni during the past three days about the precautionary steps to be taken for facing the heavy rains. In all, 10 teams of the Tamil Nadu Disaster Response Force have been stationed in four districts - Kanyakumari, Coimbatore, Tirunelveli and the Nilgiris to face any eventuality due to heavy rains.