Fourteen dead in Tamil Nadu rains

INDIA: A total of 14 people and 157 cattle have succumbed in the incessant rain in Tamil Nadu for the past five days. According to Tamil Nadu Revenue and Disaster Management Minister KSSR Ramachandran, in the last 24 hours, two people have died in Thanjavur and Tiruvarur. As many as 1,146 huts and 237 houses have also been completely damaged.

Minister Ramachandran said 130.64 mm of rainfall has been recorded in Chengalpet, the highest among all 38 districts. He said winds will be strong with a speed of around 40 with gusting to 45 kilometers per hour over Chennai, Kancheepuram, Tiruvallur, and Chengalpet districts of Tamil Nadu.

He said 10 teams of National Disaster Response Force teams have been dispatched, with three each to Chengalpet and Chennai Corporation and one each to Cuddalore, Nagapattinam, Madurai, Tiruvallur. Two teams from Tamil Nadu Disaster Response Force have been deployed in Thanjavur and Cuddalore.

According to the minister, at 162 relief centres in Chengalpet, Kancheepuram, Nagapattinam, Perambulur, Pudukkotai, Rainpet, Tiruvallur, Tiruvannamalai, Tiruvarur, Villupuram, Ariyalur, as many as 9,312 people have been accommodated. In Chennai, a total of 1,961 persons have been accommodated in 41 centres and 21,02,420 food packets have been distributed. Ramachandran said officials have been appointed for each of the 200 wards in the city to distribute food packets to the needy.

In Nagapattinam district, a total of 5,023 hectares are submerged in rainwater. The minister said efforts are being made to drain the water. In Chennai, of the 426 areas that were flooded, 53 of them have been drained out using high-power motors. As many as 13 subways in the city are flooded.

Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin has formed a six-member ministerial panel headed by state cooperatives minister I Periyasamy, to assess crop damage in the delta region and submit a report to the government to expedite relief work. – DN INDIA