Chennai: Heavy rainfall lashed southern parts of Tamil Nadu even as the government declared a holiday for all schools, colleges and banks in four districts - Tirunelveli, Thoothukudi, Kanyakumari and Tenkasi. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a ‘heavy rain alert’ for the state for the next seven days.
While Tiruchendur and Sattankulam stations in Thoothukudi district recorded 606 mm of rainfall in the past 24 hours, Palayamkottai station located in Tirunelveli recorded 260 mm of rainfall.
The IMD had declared a red alert over a few places in Madurai, Virudhunagar and Theni districts. Meanwhile, an orange alert has been issued by the weather agency over isolated places in Thoothukudi, Dindigul, Coimbatore and Thiruppur districts.
According to a report, 40 lakes in the Kovilpatti area have reached their full capacity. “40 lakes in Kovilpatti Panchayat are full. Two lakes were damaged and we repaired them. We are continuously monitoring other lakes too. If there is a breach in the lake, we are ready to fix it immediately,” said Rajesh, District Development Officer, Thoothukkudi district.
Incidents of landslides were reported from Ooty due to heavy rains lashing the Nilgiris district. Union Minister L Murugan oversaw the clearing of the landslide at Ooty Mettupalayam road. Flash floods were reported in many places in Thoothukudi. Efforts to rectify breaches in water bodies were carried out by district administration.