Record rains Down South; 3 killed

MADURAI/CHENNAI: The drought-prone coastal district of Thoothukudi remained cut off from other Tamil Nadu districts on Monday after an unprecedented heavy spell of rain since Sunday morning mauled the southern districts.

Thoothukudi, Tirunelveli, Tenkasi, and Kanniyakumari suffered the wrath of climate change with normalcy thrown out of gear. Kayalpattinam town received an unprecedented downpour of 95 cm within 24 hours, surpassing all previous rainfall records in Tamil Nadu.

Boats and helicopters were pressed into service and more than 10,000 people were evacuated as reports came in. Three persons were killed in various parts of Tirunelveli after rain-soaked old houses collapsed on Monday.

Tirunelveli Collectorate premises were inundated and officials suffered hardship. The heavy water discharge from the Tamirabarani River added havoc to the southern districts and the famous Tiruchendur Murugan temple witnessed severe waterlogging.

Chief Minister MK Stalin deputed ministers EV Velu, Udhayanidhi Stalin, Raja Kannappan, and P Moorthy to speed up the relief works.

After holding a review meeting through video conferencing, the CM instructed the elected representatives to stay in their constituencies and ensure that the flood-hit public is attended to. SMS alerts were sent to 62 lakh people and thousands of stranded public were moved to 84 relief camps.

The heavy rain in Thoothukudi and the Tamirabarani river spate affected the rain relief and flood mitigation works.

Southern Railway said traffic has been suspended in the Tirunelveli-Tiruchendur section, between Srivaikuntam and Seydunganallur, as ‘the ballast’ has been washed away and the track is ‘hanging’ and water is flowing over the railway tracks.

Several train services operated via the southern regions have been cancelled, while some were suspended and some diverted.

Residential colonies such as Meenakshi Garden and Railway Colony in Nagercoil were among the residential colonies that witnessed heavy inundation.

A link road to Madurai near Ottapidaram was completely cut off. Thoothukudi MP Kanimozhi Karunanidhi and Social Welfare Minister P Geetha Jeevan took government buses to reach out to the flood-affected areas in Thoothukudi.

Efforts are on to drain floodwaters through Buckle Canal and inflated boats are used to ferry the stranded residents.

Helicopters pressed in for rescue operations

Thoothukudi Corporation Commissioner C Dinesh Kumar said helicopter services are provided by the central agencies to distribute food. Nearly, 20 fishing boats have joined the rescue operation to evacuate victims to safer places.

The 18-ward municipal town of Kayalpattinam recorded a historic rainfall of 95 cm. While several residents of low-lying areas were evacuated by vans to community halls and mosques on Sunday night, flash floods have left several areas beyond access, 62-year-old Nawaz Ahmed, secretary of Kayalpattinam United Jamaath Peravai told DT Next.

Mujahideen, a resident, said power was cut off in inundated areas and many couldn’t be contacted since cell phones received no signal. Former chairman of Kayalpattinam municipality Abeedha said several areas in Thannerpathal village were submerged and those stranded shifted to house terraces.

According to R Amal Xavier, Regional Joint Director of Fisheries, 13 fibre-reinforced plastic (FRP) boats were used to rescue those stranded.

As many as 20 swimmers (fishers) were roped in to rescue the residents in marooned areas.

In Kovilpatti, four trains short terminated on Monday morning, additional staff members were deployed to man counters and complete the demand for refund of tickets.

Flood victim rescued by helicopter

With concerted efforts of TN Fire and Rescue Services and INS Parundu, Naval Air station, a person stranded clinging to a tree at flooded Keelanatham in Tirunelveli, was rescued by helicopter on Monday. The victim, while driving a car, was struck by the flood at Keelanatham on Sunday evening. However, the victim survived the flood through the night into Monday morning. Initially, the TNFRS personnel tried to use a boat to rescue the victim. Still, since they could not proceed against the flood, the INS was called upon to join the rescue operations through district administration, sources said.