Tamil Nadu rains: Heavy rainfall leaves 3 dead, alert in 4 districts issued; relief ops underway

Torrential downpours in the southern state of Tamil Nadu have left three people dead and several more in critical condition. Up to 7,500 individuals have been relocated from their houses to relief camps thus far. The most severely affected districts are Tenkasi, Tirunelveli, Kanyakumari, and Thoothukudi. In these areas, bridges, highways, and rice fields have all been inundated, and floodwater is even infiltrating homes.

The Regional Meteorological Centre has issued Orange Alert for seven districts in Tamil Nadu and Karaikal, which are likely to receive moderate thunderstorms and lightning with Moderate rain. Yellow Alert has also been issued for isolated places over six districts in Tamil Nadu. 

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Electricity supply was put hold in advance due to incessant rainfall, while mobile phone connectivity was also hit in multiple regions. Due to road connections being severed as a result of lakes and rivers overflowing in several locations, public transit was also impacted.

Rescue operations are underway throughout the state as individuals were evacuated from low-lying and vulnerable regions by the NDRF, SDRF, and other participating teams. Disaster Response Force Teams and Fire and Rescue Services, along with police personnel are actively engaged in the rescue work, including supply of food and drinking water. More than 50,000 people have been provided food in the flood-hit regions.

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Tamil Nadu Chief Secretary Shiv Das Meena said food and relief items to the affected people in the flood-hit areas will be distributed with the help of five helicopters of the Navy and Air Force on Tuesday. 19 trucks carrying essentials such as water bottles, bread packets, biscuits, milk etc, which were arranged from neighbouring districts, were en route to Thoothukudi.

After intense rains on Monday, the government reported that the storage in the main dams and reservoirs in southern Tamil Nadu varied from 80 to 100%. According to an official announcement, storage was 83.10 percent in Manimuthar dam, 89.54 percent in Papanasam dam, and 80.73 percent in Servalar dam.