Rain paralyses four districts in TN; three killed, thousands marooned
MADURAI: Three people died on Monday in the unprecedented rainfall that upended lives in Thoothukudi, Tirunelveli, Tenkasi and Kanniyakumari districts over the past two days. Nearly 7,500 people from 1,545 families have been moved to 84 relief centres in the four districts. A total of 425 disaster relief personnel have been deployed, and Thoothukudi airport has been shut. Heavy rain may continue in one or two places on Tuesday too, the Met department said. Tirunelveli and Thoothukudi districts have declared holiday for schools and colleges on Tuesday.
Heeding Chief Minister M K Stalin’s request on Monday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi agreed to meet him personally for an urgent discussion on flood relief and rehabilitation measures in New Delhi on Tuesday. The CM also held a video conference meeting from New Delhi with the collectors of the affected districts.
Over 800 passengers onboard Chendur Express bound for Chennai have been stranded at Srivaikuntam railway station for over 24 hours. The state and railway authorities are finding it difficult to reach them due to floodwater. While 300 passengers were relocated to a relief centre at a nearby school around 1.30am on Monday, the remaining 500 are still stranded on the train without food. Attempts to airdrop food from an Air Force helicopter were unsuccessful due to adverse weather condition and persistent rain. Local residents managed to distribute food to about 100 passengers at the station, sources said.
According to weather bloggers, Kayalpattinam in Thoothukudi recorded 95cm of rainfall, the highest ever recorded in the plains of Tamil Nadu in a 24-hour period. Overall, it is the second highest rainfall to be recorded in the state after 96.5 cm in Kakkachi in Tirunelveli in 1992. In the last 24 hours ending at 6pm on Monday, 11 cm average rainfall has been recorded in Kanniyakumari, with Mylaudy receiving 30cm rainfall. The Met department said 39 places received extremely heavy rain, 33 places very heavy rain, and 12 places heavy rain. The red alert for Tirunelvei, Thenkasi, Thoothukudi and Kanniyakumari has been extended till Tuesday morning.
Water level in most dams in southern TN was in the range of 80% to 100%. While the storage in Manimuthar dam was 83.10%, it was 89.54% and 80.73% in Papanasam and Servalar dams.