Subscribe Now! Get features like
Heavy rains lashed the coastal and interior districts of Tamil Nadu, owing to the incessant showers in several parts of the state on Tuesday. The rains did not cause major damages, however, water stagnation was reported in Chennai and other districts, officials familiar with the matter said.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued an orange alert and forecast the possibility of isolated heavy to very heavy rainfall in the coastal regions of Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, and Karaikal on November 14.
After a low rainfall in October, Tamil Nadu had reported a 42% deficit rainfall. On Tuesday, Chennai’s Nungambakkam and Meenambakkam stations recorded a rainfall of 25mm and 35mm, respectively. Minister for disaster management KKSSR Ramachandran said that Chennai has received 19 cm of rainfall since October. “We are well prepared for the rains,” the minister said in Chennai on Tuesday.
More than 4,900 relief camps have been set up and the authorities have declared a holiday for schools in seven districts of the state for November 15, the minister added.
Nagapattinam district recorded the highest rainfall of 17 cm in the state as of Tuesday, followed by Cuddalore which recorded 12 cm rainfall.
Isolated heavy rainfall and gutsy winds up to 55 kmph have been forecast for coastal Tamil Nadu in several districts, namely Cuddalore, Mayiladuthurai, Nagapattinam, Tiruvarur, Pudukottai and Ramanathapuram, and in Puducherry’s Karaikal. Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC) in Chennai has forecasr heavy rainfall up to November 15.
Meanwhile, chief minister MK Stalin on Tuesday inspected work at the ‘state emergency operation centre’ in Chennai. He also directed deputation of a minister for each of the delta districts where heavy rains have been forecast, such as Cuddalore, Mayiladuthurai, and Nagappatinam. Besides, IAS officers have been deputed in 13 other districts to oversee relief and rescue operations.
The chief minister also spoke to S Balachandran, deputy-director general of RMC over phone to be abreast of the forecast over the next three days.
An advisory has been issued for 27 district officials, where heavy rains have been forecast, to be prepared to carry out the rescue operations. “About 400 NDRF personnel have been positioned in the districts of Tirunelveli, Coimbatore and Trichy and 200 NDRF personnel in Chennai for rescue operations,” the government said in a statement.
Balachandran said that seven places across have received very heavy rainfall and 31 areas recorded heavy rainfall on Tuesday across Tamil Nadu and Puducherry. “There will be moderate rain in coastal areas of Tamil Nadu over the next two days and heavy rains have been forecast in Nagapattinam, Mayiladuthurai, Tiruvarur, Cuddalore, Villupuram and Puducherry,” he said, adding that Chennai is expected to see moderate rainfall on November 15.
Divya Chandrababu is an award-winning political and human rights journalist based in Chennai, India. Divya is presently Assistant Editor of the Hindustan Times where she covers Tamil Nadu & Puducherry. She started her career as a broadcast journalist at NDTV-Hindu where she anchored and wrote prime time news bulletins. Later, she covered politics, development, mental health, child and disability rights for The Times of India. Divya has been a journalism fellow for several programs including the Asia Journalism Fellowship at Singapore and the KAS Media Asia- The Caravan for narrative journalism. Divya has a master’s in politics and international studies from the University of Warwick, UK. As an independent journalist Divya has written for Indian and foreign publications on domestic and international affairs.
