Tamil Nadu Rains: IMD Predicts More Downpour for Next 3 Days, Issues Orange Alert

Heavy rains continued to lash Tamil Nadu, forcing the state government to declare a holiday for schools in several districts on Saturday. Chief Minister MK Stalin said the impact of the rainfall was prevented due to the timely mitigation work initiated by the authorities.

The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued an orange alert in the state and predicted heavy rainfall for the next three days in several districts, including Chennai.

“The apprehension of a deluge in Chennai during the monsoon is now passe because of the steps taken by the DMK government,” Stalin said on ‘X’ (formally Twitter).

The impact of the heavy rain has been prevented from affecting people by taking up work such as desilting and establishing stormwater drains for a distance of 876 km. With the RMC warning of heavy rains in the next few days, the state ministers, representatives of local bodies besides civic officials and staff have been told to be actively on the ground to serve the people, he said in the post, tagging state Ministers: KN Nehru (Municipal Administration), PK Sekar Babu (Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments department) and Ma Subramanian (Health), Corporation Mayor R Priya and Greater Chennai Corporation Commissioner Dr J Radhakrishnan.

“Let’s strengthen the faith in the Dravidian model government which is around to prevent the people from suffering even the slightest calamity,” the chief minister said, reposting a message from the Greater Chennai Corporation which said many areas, including, subways remained free from water stagnation with the exception of Alandur and Velachery due to proactive stormwater drain initiatives and flood preparedness efforts directed by the chief minister.

Stalin continued to oversee and closely monitor these essential works. “The works undertaken in the past two and half years included the laying of new stormwater drains for a length of 876 km to increase the network of existing drains and also in certain areas replacing low capacity very old non-functional stormwater drains, coupled with regular desilting of drains and channels,” the civic body said in its post on “X”.

The cyclonic circulation over Sri Lanka is leading to adverse weather conditions in southern states like Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, and Puducherry.

Speaking to reporters, Additional Director General of Meteorology S Balachandran said, “Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, and Karaikal would receive light to moderate rain in the next three days.”

The continuous downpour throughout the day on Saturday had caught office-goers and students unaware. Some areas in Chennai were waterlogged for over an hour and a half during peak-hour traffic.

On Friday, two people were killed and 18 others sustained injuries in a lighting incident in Madurai district.

In its weather bulletin, the Chennai Regional Meteorology Department notifies that districts like Kanyakumari, Tirunelveli, Tenkasi, Theni, Dindigul, Virudhunagar, Madurai, Sivaganga, Pudukkottai, Tiruppur, Coimbatore, Nilgiris, Erode, Krishnagiri, Dharmapuri, Thoothukudi, and Ramanathapuram may witness heavy rainfall.

WEATHER UPDATES in other states

• The weather department has also forecast very high rainfall in three districts of Kerala – Pathanamthitta, Idukki, and Ernakulam.
• For Sunday, the IMD has issued yellow alert for Alappuzha, Kottayam, Thrissur, Malappuram, Wayanad, Kannur, and Kasargod.
• Moderate rainfall is predicted at some in Andaman and Nicobar Islands till next seven days.
• A fresh western disturbance is likely to affect Himalayan Region from November 7. Under its influence, IMD predicts that rainfall, along with snowfall may be over Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttarakhand till November 9.

(with inputs from PTI)