TN Rains: Five Killed Across State; Red Alert Issued To Coastal Dists Including Chennai For 48 Hours

The heavy rains have inundated residential places and arterial roads in Chennai including Villivakkam, Ambattur, T Nagar and KK Nagar.

Chennai: Five people died and 10,500 people were shifted to relief camps in Tamil Nadu due to rain-related fury, said Tamil Nadu Revenue Minister KKSSR Ramachandran on Friday. The five deaths were reported from Ariyalur, Dindigul, Sivaganga and Tiruvannamalai districts with damages to more than 800 houses across the state. 

In this backdrop, the India Meteorological Department issued a red alert to the coastal districts including Chennai and Puducherry. The IMD also said that heavy to very heavy rainfall will continue in the region for the next 48 hours, on Friday. 

The heavy rains have inundated residential places and arterial roads in Chennai including Villivakkam, Ambattur, T Nagar and KK Nagar.

In a bulletin issued by IMD, the agency said, "A low pressure area is likely to form over South Andaman sea around November 29, 2021. It is likely to become more marked and move west-northwestwards during subsequent 48 hours." 

"Scattered to broken low and medium clouds with embedded intense to very intense convection lay over Southwest Bay of Bengal off Tamil Nadu Coast Palk straight near Gulf of Mannar. Scattered low and medium clouds with embedded moderate to intense convection lay over central and south Bay of Bengal and Andaman sea," the bulletin said.

The district administrations in Tamil Nadu has declared rain holiday to schools and colleges in 21 districts. The Regional MET department also predicted heavy to very heavy rainfall in Chennai, Tiruvallur, Kanchipuram, Chengalpattu, Tirunelveli, Thoothukudi, Tenkasi on Saturday. While heavy rainfall will continue in Kanyakumari, Ramanathapuram, Tiruchy, Karur, Nilgiris and Coimbatore on Saturday. The downpour is predicted to continue in Chennai, Kanchipuram, Tiruvallur, Chengalpattu districts for the next two days.