First Published Nov 19, 2021, 11:49 AM IST
BumHeavy rains lashed parts of Andhra Pradesh, Chennai and suburbs of Tamil Nadu, the northern and delta districts of the state and the Union Territories of Puducherry and Karaikal on Thursday. Isolated areas, especially Puducherry and Cuddalore districts, received heavy rainfall on Thursday. Heavy rains continue in most parts of Tamil Nadu, disrupting normal life. The meteorological department has forecast isolated places in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry for the next 24 hours as the low pressure area will cross the coast near Chennai on Friday morning. The department has warned of strong winds along the coasts of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry in the next 24 hours. Fishermen are advised not to go fishing as the sea is turbulent or very turbulent.
Most of the reservoirs and reservoirs in Tamil Nadu have started discharging due to excess water inflow. With this, the respective district administrations in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry issued flood warnings.
Residents along the river were advised to move to safer places. Most of the low-lying bridges in the northern districts were also submerged. Disconnection of electricity, telephone and connections also hampered communication with the rural areas.
The Tamil Nadu and Puducherry governments are preparing for the adverse weather. Schools and colleges in the Union Territories of Villupuram, Vellore, Kanchipuram, Ranipet, Tiruvallur, Puducherry and Karaikal will be closed today.
Schools in Chengalpet and Cuddalore districts will be closed today. A part of the Panchayat Union Primary School building in Kurinjipadi in Cuddalore district collapsed due to incessant rain.
The accident was averted as the school was closed on Thursday following the announcement of a government holiday. The building remained in use until the last working day, when students reportedly stayed home and miraculously escaped.
Higher Education Minister K Ponmudi inspected the demolition of the Thalavanur check dam across the Thenpennayar in Villupuram district. The Minister directed the Public Works Department officials to strengthen the river bunds.
A 31-year-old farmer was killed in a lightning strike in Madurai district on Wednesday. The state government has said that 14 people have died in the rains in Tamil Nadu so far. The low-lying areas were inundated as it rained in the delta districts since Wednesday evening. More than 2,000 acres of samba paddy fields were destroyed by the floods.
Chennai received more than 15 hours of rain. Major roads and surrounding areas were flooded, power supply to more than 65,000 homes was cut off and air traffic was cut off for more than six hours. At least 1.45 lakh acres of crops have been inundated due to heavy rains in the last two weeks. Plantation crops on 6,000 acres.
Earlier, a red alert was issued for five districts, including Chennai. It was later extended to 8 districts. The Red Alert for Chennai and Tiruvallur districts has been withdrawn. An orange alert has been declared instead.
Kanchipuram, Chengalpet, Ranipet and Tiruvallur districts also received heavy rainfall. Roads in Chennai were flooded due to heavy rains in T Nagar, Usman Road, GV Chetty Road and Kilpauk. Efforts are on to avoid flooding in the city.
The temple town of Tirupati was literally submerged in incessant rains following the low pressure formed in the Bay of Bengal from Wednesday night. Heavy rains are also continuing in the eastern region of Andhra Pradesh.
Relief camps have been set up at the Tirupati Municipal Corporation to provide shelter to the victims. Attempts were made to pump water and repair broken pipelines by installing heavy duty motors to drain stagnant water in several streets.
In Tirupati, landslides and tree felling were reported at several places yesterday morning, disrupting traffic on the two-lane roads leading to and from the city. All the water schemes and dams in Tirumala overflowed due to the incessant rains.
Coastal areas including Nellore, Chittoor and Kadapa have been alerted. The low-lying areas of Tirupati were flooded. The main roads leading to the Tirupati temple were flooded and traffic was disrupted. The flight to Tirupati was also diverted. ‘
The district received a total rainfall of 2218.8 mm and an average rainfall of 33.6 mm. Under the leadership of Collector M Hari, the district administration has intensified rain preparations and monitoring activities. They asked the public to stockpile food and essentials and to avoid going near water bodies or low-lying areas. Holidays were announced for all schools and colleges in the district.
Many families along the Swarnamukhi River in Chittoor have been shifted to relief camps. National Disaster Response Force deployed in Tirupati Schools in Andhra Pradesh’s eastern districts have been declared closed for two days.
The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) on Friday morning issued a warning for heavy rains in Anantapur and Kadapa districts of Andhra Pradesh. According to the Met Office, the low pressure area in the Bay of Bengal will completely cross the coast near Chennai and move towards the Anantapur-Bangalore belt.
“The rains in Anantapur and Kadapa districts are now increasing rapidly, which could lead to floods in the morning,” the IMD said in a late warning yesterday (18.11.21). “The rains in Anantapur and Kadapa districts are now increasing rapidly, which could lead to floods in the morning,” the IMD said in a late warning yesterday (18.11.21).
Extreme levels of wind gusts are expected in some parts of the country during the next 24 hours. The Met office has forecast heavy to very heavy showers along the coasts of Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Karaikal and Andhra Pradesh and isolated places in Rayalaseema and Karnataka on Friday.
Urban, Chikmagalur, Hassan, Kodagu, Shivamogga, Tumkur, Kolar, Mandya, Ramnagar, Chikballapur districts received heavy rainfall over many parts of Tamil Nadu including Chennai, Kanchipuram, Tiruvallur and Chengalpet.
According to the State Disaster Management Department, 480.3 mm of rainfall was recorded in southern India from October 1 to November 18. The entire city, including Mylapore city, was inundated by heavy rains.
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