TN: Rain Disrupts Normalcy in Tamil Nadu, Schools Shut

Chennai: A cyclonic circulation formed over the South Andaman Sea and its neighbourhood brought heavy rains with thunderstorms in the northern districts of Tamil Nadu on Saturday morning.

Earlier in the week, on Wednesday and Thursday, a deep easterly wave that prevailed over peninsular India brought heavy rainfall in many western and southern districts.

As of Friday, Tamil Nadu registered 28.5 cm of rainfall, which is 10% less than its usual share of 31.6 cm since October 1. However, Chennai’s rain gap is also reducing owing to the rain this month.

SCHOOLS SHUT

The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) predicted more rain for three hours in at least 12 districts on Saturday morning. Hence, all government and private schools in Chennai, Chengalpattu, Tiruvallur and Kanchipuram districts declared a holiday. 

Due to continuous heavy rain, the district Collectors of Tenkasi, Viruthunagar, Pudhukottai, Nilgiri, Theni, Tirunelveli, Kanyakumari and Thoothukudi districts declared a holiday for schools on Thursday.

The Tamil Nadu Education Department released guidelines for schools in view of the ongoing northeast monsoon. Schools are advised to follow the safety guidelines while raining during school hours.

Following the orange alert from the IMD, the education minister of the neighbouring union territory, Puducherry, declared school holiday in Puducherry and Karaikal on Wednesday.

LANDSLIDE IN NILGIRIS

Heavy rain disrupted normalcy in the Nilgiris and parts of Coimbatore district along the western ghats on Thursday and Friday.

The Southern Railway cancelled the mountain train service till November 30 due to landslides and uprooting of trees on the track.

Nilgiris collector M Aruna has appealed to tourists to avoid travelling to tourist destinations in the district.

A bus was damaged as a tree fell due to a landslide in Burliyar between Mettupalayam and Coonoor in the Nilgiris district after heavy rainfall in the region on Thursday. No injuries were reported in the incident, according to officials.

The heavy rain has caused the Coonoor-Mettupalayam and Kotagiri-Mettupalayam highways to suffer more than ten instances of landslides and mudslides till Friday. These have caused disruptions in the daily commute and posed risk to residents.

With the rains intensifying in the Western Ghats, many dams in southern districts have nearly reached their full capacity, and some are overflowing. However, the increased water level in dams in the southern region made farmers happy.

WATERLOGGING IN URBAN AREAS

Several areas of the state remain inundated after hours of heavy to moderate rainfall. The heavy rains led to waterlogging and traffic jams, particularly in Coimbatore and Chennai districts. 

A bus from Chennai MTC was stuck in an underpass in Moolakkothalam on Wednesday. After several efforts by the corporation workers and the transport department, it was removed from the location.

Water entered houses and markets in the low-lying residential areas of Erode district due to heavy rainfall on Thursday night. Residential areas in Tirupur also witnessed waterlogging.

As of Friday, Mettupalayam in Coimbatore received the season’s heaviest rainfall of 37 cm over the last 24 hours.

A 21-year-old youth was washed away in the flash floods in Coimbatore.

Besides Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, and Karaikal, thunderstorms with lightning have been forecasted in one or two regions in Kerala on November 26 and 27.