Tamirabarani in spate, alert issued to residents

The heavy rain in catchment areas has resulted in the Papanasam dam reaching its full storage level of 142 feet and the situation necessitated the PWD authorities to discharge water into the Tamirabarani river, sources said. Subsequently, the steady discharge into Tamirabarani has led to a spate in the river. 

The Papanasam dam received the highest amount of rain recording 110 mm in the district. When contacted, Tirunelveli Collector Shilpa Prabhakar Satish said, since the water level reached its peak in Papanasam dam, 14,000 cusecs of water have been discharged into the Tamirabarani river so far. If required, the outflow from the dam might be increased. 

The people living in low lying areas were advised to remain safe and people were banned from going near the river or taking bath. The district administration has also set up a control room and people could seek assistance to any rain related issue through toll free numbers-1077 and 0461-2501070. Further, sources added that water level in Servalar dam in Tirunelveli district (156 ft) was also considerably up at 147.37 ft.

As rain pounded along Western Ghats, people were restricted from taking bath in the Courtallam waterfalls in Tenkasi district. The storage level in many dams in Tenkasi district also stood up, considerably. The level in Adavinainar Kovil dam (132.22 ft) and Kundar (36.10 ft) reached its maximum.

Meanwhile, Ramanathapuram district was also battered by heavy rain, around 29 houses got damaged in various parts. Besides, two trees that got uprooted damaged five electricity poles in parts of Ramanathapuram town, Tangedco sources said.

The highest of 110 mm rainfall was recorded in Ramanathapuram with Rameswaram being second in line with 100 mm. Fishermen in Ramanathapuram and neighbouring Thoothukudi were advised not to venture into the sea and remain averse to sailing due to  rough weather.

In Sivaganga district, six houses were damaged in the downpour. In several parts of Theni district, it was drizzling since Saturday morning, sources said.

The deficit in the total chief rain against the expected rain in the State has reduced further to only two per cent from eight per cent on Thursday. The expected rain in the State is about 355.7 mm, however, 348.9 mm of rain has been received since October till Saturday.

As per the forecasts, several parts of the city received heavy rain with various localities receiving at least 4 cm. Other districts including Nagapattinam, Tiruvaur, Pudukottai and Cuddalore received about 16 cm of rain.

Many districts including Thanjavur, Ramanathapuram, Tirunelveli, Thoothukudi, Kanniyakumari, Sivaganga, Karaikal and Kancheepuram received heavy downpour on Saturday.

As per the regional meteorological center, scattered heavy with isolated very heavy rain is likely to occur over coastal and adjoining districts of Tamil Nadu in the next 48 hours. Several places in the State are also likely to experience thunderstorms with lightning.

Meanwhile, the weather condition in the city is likely to remain cloudy with moderate to heavy rains expected in many areas. The maximum and minimum temperatures likely to be around 30 degree Celsius and 24 degree Celsius respectively.

On Thursday, the maximum temperatures in Nungambakkam were 29.2 degree Celsius, while Meenambakkam recorded 29.8 degree Celsius. The minimum temperatures recorded were 24.4 degree Celsius and 23.7 degree Celsius at Nungambakkam and Meenambakkam respectively.

Two persons died in two separate wall collapse incidents in Thanjavur and Ariyalur districts on Saturday.

The North East Monsoon rain that intensified a few days back, continued to lash across the State particularly in the delta region. 

The heavy rain damaged few houses in Thanjavur district and Duraikannu (70) of Melattur, who was residing alone in a thatched roofed house got trapped inside the house after the collapse. Based on the information, the Kumbakonam RDO Veerasamy rushed to the spot and retrieved the body and sent it for post-mortem. The RDO also recommended compensation to the family members.

Similarly, S Poongothai (40), died after the wall of her neighbour’s house collapsed and fell onto her while she was moving on the pathway. The Vikaramangalam police rushed to the spot and retrieved the body and sent it to the Ariyalur Government Hospital. The police have registered a case and are investigating.