Heavy rains throws life out of gear in Tamil Nadu as death toll rises to 71

Chennai: The North-East monsoon continued to wreak havoc in Tamil Nadu with rains pounding the northern coastal districts and more being forecast for the coming days in the state, where the death toll as climbed to 71. 12 more persons have been killed in incidents of drowning and wall-collapse between 11 November and 15 November, Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa said as she also took stock of the situation at a review meeting with her cabinet colleagues and officials. Condoling the death of the victims, she announced a relief of Rs four lakh each to their families. 71 people have died in rail related incidents so far. Normal life has been hit in Tamil Nadu as incessant rains led to inundation of large areas and authorities have shut down educational institutions. The weather office forecast heavy downpour in the next three days in the state, Puducherry and coastal Andhra Pradesh Overnight rains pounded Chennai and its suburbs, giving citizens a harrowing time. Subways at T Nagar and Saidapet in the city were inundated, resulting in their closure. The District Administration had declared a holiday for schools and colleges in the wake of the heavy downpour that had severely affected roads. The well-marked low pressure over Southwest Bay of Bengal off Tamil Nadu, which had brought incessant rains, is likely to move north-westwards towards north Tamil Nadu coast and could concentrate into a depression during next 24 hours, the weather office said. [caption id=“attachment_2508700” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  A motorbike wades through water in Chennai after death toll in Tamil Nadu due to heavy rains rises to 71. PTI[/caption] Heavy to very heavy rainfall with isolated extremely heavy falls had occurred at a few places over north Tamil Nadu and Puducherry and at isolated places over Rayalaseema and Coastal Andhra Pradesh between 8.30 AM yesterday and 8.30 AM today. The magnitude of the north East monsoon could be gauged by rainfall statistics available till 8.30 AM today, with Ponneri in Tiruvallur recording 37 cm. Tambaram and Mahabalipuram (both Kancheepuram) recorded 33 cm each even as Chengalpattu in the district and Thamaraipakkam and Puzhal (Tiruvalur) registered in excess of 30 cm. Meanwhile, the levels in reservoirs addressing the drinking water needs of the city were increasing, bringing relief to water managers. The water level at Chembarambakkam stood at 81.80 feet against the full capacity of 85.40 feet, prompting authorities to discharge excess water into the Adyar river. Water gushed through Adyar as the swollen river presented a rare sight for residents of Chennai do not generally witness it in such spate. With surging water levels in Adyar, Chennai Collector A Sundaravalli urged residents living on the banks of the river to move to safer zones. The combined water storage in the main reservoirs feeding Chennai–Poondi, Cholavaram, Redhills and Porur, was at 7,023 mcft, as against the total capacity of 11,057 mc ft. Last year on this day, it was just 2,973 mcft,data released by Chennai Metro Water and Sewerage Supply Board (CMWSB) said. Meanwhile, Chief Minister Jayalalithaa reviewed the flood situation in her R K Nagar constituency and assured people that all relief measures, including setting up of relief and and medical camps, were in place. In Nagapattinam district, incessant rains continued for the third consecutive day today, throwing normal life out of gear. Paddy crops on hundreds of acres of land remain submerged in the region. More than 10,000 fishermen did not venture out to sea for the fourth consecutive day. Senior IAS officer Shivdas Meena, appointed as the flood monitoring officer for Nagapattinam district, toured various parts of the district along with Collector S Pazhanisamy. Kollidam, Thalaignayiru and Ananthamangalam areas, which have been identified as flood prone areas, are under round-the-clock vigil. Speaking to reporters, Meena said 12 cyclone shelters have been kept ready to offer emergency services. Three teams from National Disaster Response Force are camping at Poompuhar, Kollidam and Sirkazhi to help people. A report from Coimbatore said the first floor of an over 60-year-old building on Big Bazaar area in the city, which was lashed by heavy rains last week, collapsed today. The first floor functioned as a godown of a textile merchant and the ground floor housed a fancy store. The first floor came down around 5.30 am and under the impact, the shop on the ground floor was partially damaged, police said. However, there were no casualties, they said, adding the loss is yet to be estimated. Meanwhile, educational institutions in neighbouring Puducherry and Karaikal remained closed today in the wake of heavy downpour. The Union Territory recorded 11.09 cm rain in the last 24 hours ending 8.30 am on Monday, official sources said. Though there was a respite in the rains since 9 am, the sky remained overcast. Chief Minister N Rangasamy has directed the Directorate of Agriculture to make a speedy assessment of the impact of the rains on horticulture crops. The heavy rains forced Southern Railway to cancel and divert a slew of services scheduled for today. The cancelled services, include Chennai Egmore–Kakinada Port Circar Express, Chennai Central–Chhapra Ganga Kaveri Express, Chennai Central–Puri weekly Express, Chennai Central–Vijayawada Jan Shatabdi Express and Vijayawada–Chennai Central Jan Shatabdi Express. Many trains were being diverted without halting at Chennai Central due to rain, a Southern Railway release said. Meanwhile, with flood water showing no signs of receding, boats were pressed into service at severely-affected areas in Chennai like Velacheri and some parts of Rajiv Gandhi Salai, mainly to move people to safer areas. PTI