Flood toll feared to cross 150 in Thoothukudi dist

THOOTHUKUDI: Many villages of Thoothukudi district have melted and broken into pieces after the unprecedented rain and the flood ravage that followed. Most of the villages remain marooned and sources in the district say there could have been significant casualties.

A senior Thoothukudi Municipal Corporation official, on condition of anonymity, informed DT Next that more than 150 people may have died in Thoothukudi city and its suburbs alone.

“According to internal reports, the death toll due to floods in Thoothukudi city and its suburbs is more than 100 as of now and it may increase in the coming days. Also, information has been received that there are more than 30 unidentified bodies at Muthammal Colony of the city, which is surrounded by neck-deep flood water,” the official said.

He added to say that while most of the people left their homes and stayed in their relative’s houses and relief camps, more than 30 people may have died inside their houses at Muthammal Colony as they are believed to have locked themselves inside their homes.

“The place itself is flooded, making it difficult to recover bodies from locked houses. Only when the flood waters recede by Friday or Saturday, the details of how many lives have been lost will be known. Apart from this, there is no official count as yet,” the sobbing official said.

G Sivakumar, Dean of Government Medical College and Hospital, Thoothukudi said only 22 casualties have come to the attention of the Government Medical College and Hospital so far.

“The bodies of those who died in the flood are buried or burnt by their relatives, so they do not come to the attention of the hospital. Due to heavy workload in the hospital itself, external casualties are not known,” he said.

Gagandeep Singh Bedi, Principal Secretary, Health and Family Welfare department and also one of the monitoring officers to southern districts told DT Next that so far 221 people have been treated for injuries, fever etc in the district.

“In Thoothukudi district alone, 37 people have been treated due to fever, 104 people due to ARI (acute respiratory infection), 3 people due to ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder), 49 people due to skin diseases, 12 people due to injuries and 16 due to other diseases,” Gagandeep Singh Bedi said.

At the same time, Bedi informed that the highest number of 4,846 people in Tirunelveli district have been treated for various types of diseases like fever, injury, and skin diseases and a total of 5,313 people have been treated so far in four districts namely Tirunelveli, Thoothukudi, Tenkasi and Kanniyakumari.

Notably, 435 people were affected by skin diseases in Tirunelveli, Thoothukudi, Tenkasi, and Kanniyakumari districts after the flood. However, Bedi refused to comment on the casualties reported in these four districts due to the recent havoc.

Meanwhile, after five days, the people of Thoothukudi’s P&T Colony came out of their houses and bought essential items in the environment of knee-deep flood water.

Retired BSNL employee S Murugaiyan said, “I have been living in my own house in this colony for the last 20 years. I have never seen such a flood in my life. Couldn’t leave home for the last five days. We stayed on the terrace with family. As there was no electricity, no one could be contacted. As electricity is still not provided, even drinking water is not available.”

Chief Minister Stalin, who visited Thoothukudi on Thursday, to inspect the flood damage, visited only Ettayapuram, Kurinji Nagar, Maravan Madam, and St. Mary’s School, which are less affected by floods, leaving the public disappointed.

Disappointed that the Chief Minister did not come to their areas, people gathered on roads in Thoothukudi city to complain about the damage they had faced.