Tamil Nadu continues to reel under rain, inundation, CM speaks to collectors

People wade through a waterlogged road at a flood-affected area. Pic/PTI

Rain continued to batter several districts across Tamil Nadu on Friday and the Thamirabarani river was in spate due to continuous downpour in the southern districts.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin called up the collectors of Tirunelveli, Tenkasi, and Thoothukudi districts and enquired with them about the damage caused by the rain and the steps being taken to ensure people's safety.

"I enquired with the district collectors and district monitoring officers about the relief work being carried out to protect the people from the heavy rain," the Chief Minister said in a post on the social media platform X.

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He instructed the official to take adequate precautions, and have sufficient stock of the essential commodities and medicines.

"The three southern districts are experiencing heavy rain. State Ministers and senior officials have been dispatched to the respective districts to monitor the relief and rescue activities," Stalin told reporters after visiting the 24-hour State Emergency Operations Centre at Ezhilagam, here.

He was in constant touch with the Ministers and officials and was closely monitoring the situation. "There is no major damage at present. The state government is ready to deal with the present situation," he said.

Reservoirs and tanks across the state were fast filling up due to copious inflows and as of today, 90 reservoirs have a combined storage of 83.61 per cent, according to the Water Resources Department.

In Chennai, six lakes, which are the source of drinking water supply, have a combined storage of 87.69 per cent i.e. 11,587 Mcft against the total capacity of 13,213 Mcft (million cubic feet). Of them, about 16,500 cusecs of surplus water is being discharged from the Poondi 500 cusecs from Redhills, and 4,500 cusecs is being released from the Chembarambakkam lake.

The Thoothukudi district administration has issued a flood warning in the Srivaikuntam and Eral areas owing to the heavy inflows into the Thamirabarani river. People in low-lying areas have been advised to shift to safe places.

Due to a torrential rain upstream of Thamirabarani, a flood warning was issued to all villages and towns situated on the banks of the river, the administration said.

The revenue officials have been instructed to evacuate the people from all vulnerable places in Srivaikundam and Eral. Police and Fire and rescue services personnel have asked people to shift to safer areas.

In Maduranthakam in neighbouring Chengalpattu district, a private bus that got stranded in rainwater had to be towed to safety by the police and public. None of the passengers in the bus or its crew were injured.

While a house collapsed in Suthamalli in Tirunelveli district and a Primary Health Centre in Vadakarai in Tenkasi district was inundated following overnight rain, rainwater entered the Sankaranarayana temple in Sankarankoil.

The IMD has forecast heavy rain in 14 districts due to a well-marked low-pressure area over the Southwest Bay of Bengal off Sri Lanka coast, which lay over the Gulf of Mannar and neighbourhood. The system is very likely to continue to move west-northwestwards towards South Tamil Nadu and weaken gradually into a low-pressure area during the next 12 hours, the IMD said.

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