TENKASI/TIRUCHY/MADURAI: As rains continue to lash Tamil Nadu, a three-year-old girl died as the wall of a hut she was sleeping in collapsed during heavy rains near Kalakkad in Tenkasi on Thursday. The parents of S Arulbaby (3), daily wage labourers, also sustained injuries in the incident. The child was rushed to Tirunelveli Medical College Hospital where she succumbed to injuries. On Friday, Collector V Vishnu told reporters the family will be provided compensation.
Thanjavur, too, faced the brunt of the showers as 90 houses were damaged and two were injured in a wall collapse. As many as 13 houses and huts were also partially damaged in Virudhunagar after heavy rainfall lashed the district on Thursday.
As on Friday morning, the district recorded total 833 mm rainfall. The highest rainfall was recorded at Sattur (112 mm), followed by Vembakottai (99 mm), Srivilliputhur (75 mm) and Aruppukottai (73 mm).
With downpours submerging residential areas in Thoothukudi, district administration officials have evacuated 981 people and accommodated them in 12 relief shelters.
In Tiruvarur district, low-lying areas were inundated and the rainwater entered the houses in places like Kuzhundankulam, Panagal road. The habitations in Kekkarai road, VIP Nagar, Pulivalam Royal City Nagar were inundated. The rainfall affected the functioning of Anna Science Centre Planetarium which was closed on Friday due to the waterlogging.
Residents of the Vaigai banks in Madurai have been warned to stay away from the river as the inflow increased following heavy rains. Public is prohibited from taking baths, washing clothes or swimming.
The monsoon continued to take its toll on farmers in the delta districts.
Over 150 acres of paddy crops near Adavathur Merku (west) in Tiruchy were inundated following heavy rainfall over the past few days. Shanmugam, a farmer said, “I planted paddy on more than three acres and this will be a huge loss for me.”
(With inputs from Thanjavur, Thoothukudi and Virudhunagar)