Thoothukudi Flood: DMK MP Kanimozhi Blames Unexpected Rain, Defends Govt Response

DMK MP Kanimozhi said that the weather department did not expect the unprecedented rainfall and they could not have done anything to avert the scenario. 

Days after heavy rainfall wreaked havoc in Thoothukudi and Tirunelveli districts, DMK MP Kanimozhi Karunanidhi addressed the ongoing flood crisis, expressing her concerns and shedding light on the challenges faced by the government in responding to the unprecedented situation. She said that the weather department did not expect the unprecedented rainfall and they could not have done anything to avert the scenario. 

According to ANI, DMK MP Kanimozhi Karunanidhi said, "...The weather department did not expect this, we had been checking regularly. This happened suddenly and unprecedentedly... The government could not have done anything. Every day, more than 1.5 lakh cusecs of water was being released... Water from a lot of tanks breached. Everything together has caused this devastation."

"Once we knew the rain was going to be bad, we tried to protect the places and take away people from the areas which might get affected... I really don't understand how we could have because this is not a storm or a cyclone where we have a little bit of warning... Every time I visit people, they say that even in their grandfather's time water has never come here... The duty of the opposition is to find faults," she said.

The DMK MP alleged that the alerts came in when they went to call people to safer places but they refused to come. 

She said, "When the alerts started coming in and we went call people to safer places, they refused to come. They said even from their grandfather's times water has never come here. They said go from here, nothing will happen. They just refused to believe... Everything including crops, houses, roads, and bridges has been washed away... "

"There are officers here but nothing is enough... In a lot of places, we could not go by vehicle so we had to take a boat... The fishermen have been helpful and supportive and have come forward to help the administration and rescue operations. The NDRF and the army were here... Some places are accessible now," the MP said.