NAGERCOIL/TIRUNELVELI/TENKASI: Heavy rains battered the southern parts of the State on Sunday, leaving deaths and destruction in their wake. Two youth drowned in separate waterbodies and search is on for a 79-year-old man who was washed away in a flash flood, in Kanniyakumari. The downpour also damaged five houses and brought to ground 12 electric poles across the district.
As most of the low-lying areas got inundated, rescue teams were deployed to shift people to shelters. District Fire Officer B Saravana Babu told TNIE that firemen have rescued around 90 people from areas, including Kalial, Pallikal, Vaikalur and Partheepapuram, using boats.
A source said some were refusing to leave for the shelters. Police said a 17-year-old boy from Chennai, who had come to his grandmother’s house at Mulucode near Arumanai, drowned while bathing in a nearby tank on Saturday. Another 17-year-old boy drowned at Valliyar River in Kadiyapattinam. Catchment areas in Kanniyakumari district received heavy rains till Sunday morning, ensuring copious inflow to dams here. As surplus water was released from the reservoirs, rivers were also in spate.
The areas near Courtallam Main Falls, Five Falls and Old Falls in Tenkasi district were flooded for the second consecutive day. The waterbodies linked to the Main Falls are fast approaching maximum capacity. With the Nagalkulam tank near Pavoorchatram overflowing, the Mathikettan canal irrigating several farmlands in Alangulam Taluk, has received inflow after two years. Further, Sasthakulam tank near Puliyarai breached its banks destroying paddy. Thiruvananthapuram Railway Division has partially cancelled four train services between Shengottai Ghat and Kollam section.