Monsoon rains were recorded nearly 75 per cent above normal in several areas of Tamil Nadu, while Chief Minister MK Stalin on Saturday inspected the submerged areas here and oversaw the initiative to pump out the water using heavy-duty pumps.
In view of widespread rainfall in northern areas and southern parts of Tamil Nadu like Tirunelveli and forecast by the Meteorological Department, especially in areas close to the coast till the morning of November 29, officials here said that 11,329 people have been kept in 123 safe shelters. . ,
These shelters are spread over Tiruvallur, Kancheepuram, Chengalpet, Cuddalore, Nagapattinam, Pudukottai, Tuticorin, Ariyalur, Perambalur, Dindigul, Ranipettai, Tirupattur, Tiruvannamalai and Vellore districts. Units of the National Disaster Response Force have been deployed in Chengalpet and Kancheepuram districts.
An official release said that 653 people have been kept in six relief centers in Chennai and 825 packets of food were distributed to them today.
The Met Office said the forecast for the coastal areas includes Chennai and the neighboring Union Territory of Puducherry and the ‘red shade’ for such areas indicates the possibility of “excess rainfall only”. In view of the rains in the catchment areas, more than 8,500 cusecs of excess water was released from reservoirs, including Poondi, which meets Chennai’s drinking water needs – and about 23,600 cusecs from Mettur dam in Salem district.
Similarly, surplus water was released from other reservoirs like Papanasam (near Tirunelveli) and Sathanur (away from Tiruvannamalai).
An IMD bulletin has indicated scattered, broken, low and moderate clouds over central Bay of Bengal, adjoining south Bay of Bengal and south Andaman Sea.
A low pressure area is very likely to form over South Andaman Sea around November 29. “It is very likely to become more marked and move west-northwestwards during the next 48 hours,” the bulletin said.
Revenue and Disaster Management Minister KKSSR Ramachandran said that from October 1 to November 27, the state received about 60.33 cm of rain, which is 75 per cent more, as compared to the normal 34.57 cm for the period.
An IMD official told PTI, “From October 1 to November 27, Tamil Nadu received 60 cm of rain and the normal is 33 cm, which is 74 per cent more. With respect to Chennai, the metropolis received 106 cm of rain (during the same period). While 60 CM is normal and hence 77 percent more. “In the last 24 hours, three people have died in rain-related incidents in Ariyalur, Tirunelveli and Tiruppur districts,” a government release said. And a total of 273 houses have been damaged.”
Stalin along with his cabinet colleagues and top officials inspected the flooded areas like Pattalam and Pulianthope here. He directed the officials to drain the flood waters at the earliest.
The Revenue Minister reviewed the rain-related relief initiatives in a high-level meeting, which was attended by top officials. Here in more than 220 water-logged areas, flood waters are being removed using heavy motor pumps and fallen trees have been removed. About 1,000 heavy duty pumps and 46 excavators have been kept ready for use, officials said.
For assistance, people can call 24 x 7 toll free number 1070 (State level control room in Chennai) or 1077, the number of control centers in districts. Also, residents of Greater Chennai Corporation areas can call 1913 to register a complaint.
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