THOOTHUKUDI: According to data given by the disaster management department, over 7,417 houses have been damaged, 1.07 lakh cattle killed, and 2.24 lakh acres of crops devastated due to the floods on December 17 and 18. The enumeration of damages to life and material is ongoing. More than 22 people have been declared dead due to the floods and five more bodies have been recovered in a decomposed state.
Of the 1.07 lakh cattle killed, 2,785 are cows and 22,072 goats. Similarly, an extent of 2,24,602.04 acres have incurred damage and includes a majority of banana and millet crops.
The coastal district on December 17 and 18 received an aggressive downpour of an average of 351.79 mm, with the highest being 932 mm at Kayalpattinam, followed by 679 mm in Tiruchendur, 495 mm in Kovilpatti, 466 mm in Sathankulam and 361.4 mm in Thoothukudi town. As a result, the annual average rainfall in Thoothukudi district for 2023 increased to 1,009.3 mm as of December 28, while the average is 662.20 mm with a surplus of 347.10 mm. It is the second highest rainfall with the data available since 1990, following 1,047.68 mm in 2008.
Apart from the surplus dam water discharged into Thamirabarani, the rain at catchment areas and the confluence of jungle streams and branch rivers flooded through the plains of the river valley flanking at least three kilometres on either side. According to PWD officials, they released 40,000 cusecs into the Thamirabarani river from dams in Tirunelveli on December 18 and 19, while the last anaicut of Srivaikuntam in Thamirabarani received 1.65 lakh cusecs of flood for two days, they added.
"In the 1992 floods, both dams and river areas received torrential rain. But in 2023, the dams did not receive the rain which caused less discharge from the dam. This reduced the damage on life and material along the river course, given the mammoth and unprecedented quantum 93 cm rains in 2023. Otherwise, the loss would have been even more", said Mariappan, executive engineer of the Thamirabarani division.
A retired PWD official, Vinoth, said the Thamirabarani river had previously carried floodwater to an extent of 1.25 lakh cusecs in 1992.
The new bridge across the river at Srivaikuntam has been designed to withstand 1.5 lakh cusecs. Though water overflowed at the old anaicut of Srivaikuntam, the surplus water did not overflow over the new bridge, he added. With the flood displacing several families, the district administration is mulling to identify available porambokke lands to provide temporary accommodation for those in relief camps, before planning a permanent solution.
Speaking to TNIE, a top official said at least 6,500 people are still residing in 20 relief centres in Srivaikuntam, Eral and Thoothukudi corporation areas, and several hundred have been displaced following damage to their houses. "Though we are looking for poramboke lands to accommodating people who have lost their houses, it is difficult to implement it as damaged houses are scattered and in different pockets. They cannot be forced to live far from their settlement," he added.
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With regards to the agriculture and cattle loss, farmers are keeping their fingers crossed as they lost the crops just a few weeks before the harvest of paddy and minor millet crops. The banana plantation, which is a cash crop, has been extensively damaged owing to the heavy downpour.