On Tuesdsay, 19 December, heavy rain is likely at one or two places in Kanyakumari, Tirunelveli, Thoothukudi and Tenkasi districts.
Published Dec 18, 2023 | 7:32 PM ⚊ Updated Dec 19, 2023 | 9:45 AM
Floods in southern Tamil Nadu. (Screengrab)
Approximately 800 train passengers were stranded at Srivaikuntam in the Thoothukudi district of Tamil Nadu due to floods, a railway official said in Madurai on Monday, 18 December.
The passengers of a Chennai-bound express train from the temple town of Tiruchendur were stranded for nearly 20 hours at Srivaikuntam, which is in the worst flood-hit region.
The official said: “All efforts are on to rescue them.” He added that the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) had also been alerted.
The Tiruchendur-Chennai Egmore Express (Train No 20606) departed from Tiruchendur to Chennai at 8.25 pm on Sunday.
The train was, however, stopped at Srivaikuntam railway station, about 32 km away from Tiruchendur, due to heavy rain and flooding, said the official.
In total, 800 passengers are stranded. Of them, approximately 500 were at the Srivaikuntam railway station and about 300 were in a nearby school, he added.
The passengers could not venture outside as the entire area was heavily inundated, he noted.
Southern Railway announced traffic suspension on the Tirunelveli-Tiruchendur section, between Srivaikuntam and Seydunganallur, as the ballasts had been washed away in floods and the tracks were “hanging”, with water flowing over them.
Villages, towns, roads, and highways in several regions of southern Tamil Nadu — including Tirunelveli and Thoothukudi — now resemble rivers in spate.
As floodwaters gushed into residential neighbourhoods and roads, houses were inundated and people were marooned.
At Seevalaperi in Tirunelveli, residents huddled on the terrace of a few two-storeyed houses. Similar was the scene at Meenakshipuram in Tirunelveli.
Over 100 houses at Nesavalar Colony in Nagercoil were inundated and they were evacuated by the authorities and sent to relief centres. Several residents said they have never seen such extremely heavy rainfall and flooding.
Using ropes, local people and Fire and Rescue Service and disaster response teams helped those stranded amid flooded streams reach safe locations. At Krishnaberi in Tirunelveli, local people mobilised resources to rescue the stranded residents.
VIDEO | Indian Navy’s helicopter deployed in Tirunelveli to rescue people stranded in waterlogged areas amid incessant rainfall in the region.#TamilNadu pic.twitter.com/qgKrpfJXkS
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) December 18, 2023
The huge volume of water flowing in waterfalls including Courtallam and Agasthiyar looked like multiple cloudbursts happening continuously.
VIDEO | Coutrallam waterfall overflows due to incessant heavy rainfall in Tamil Nadu’s Tenkasi district.#TamilNadu pic.twitter.com/NuKnjBbTc2
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) December 18, 2023
Vehicles parked near the bus terminus areas went underwater. Though there was a respite from rains in some areas, the release of surplus water from dams continued, also contributing to water logging.
In a residential colony near Rajapalayam, an elderly woman was feared dead in a rain-related incident. Rivers including the Thamirabarani are in spate.
Access to villages such as Oothu was cut off as roads overflowed with flood water. Roads including the Kovilpatti-Kayatharu-Thevarkulam road were flooded. Lake bunds breached in a string of areas including Iravipudur in Kanyakumari adding to the flood woes.
The extremely heavy rainfall and flooding in southern Tamil Nadu have dwarfed the recent showers and inundation witnessed in the state capital Chennai.
VIDEO | Waterlogging in several parts of Thoothukudi district due to incessant rainfall in the region.#TamilNadu pic.twitter.com/RLp1q4N96v
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) December 18, 2023
As many as 39 regions in southern Tamil Nadu witnessed extremely heavy rainfall, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Monday.
Heavy to extremely heavy rainfall was recorded in Thoothukudi, Tirunelveli, Tenkasi and Kanyakumari districts and light to moderate rainfall at most places in southern Tamil Nadu, the IMD said in a bulletin.
It is for the 24-hour duration commencing at 8.30 am on 17 December and ending at 8.30 am the following day.
The rainfall was due to the influence of an upper air cyclonic circulation extending up to the mid-tropospheric levels over the Comorin area and neighbourhood.
Heavy to very heavy rain was recorded at isolated places in Theni, Virudhunagar, Sivaganga and Ramanathapuram districts and isolated heavy rain in Madurai district.
There were 39 extremely heavy rainfall reports, 33 very heavy rainfall reports and 12 heavy rainfall reports from such southern regions. Kayalpattinam in Thoothukudi district reported 95 cm, followed by Tiruchendur and Srivaikuntam (both in Thoothukudi district) reporting 69 cm and 62 cm respectively.
The upper air cyclonic circulation over the Comorin area and neighbourhood extending up to mid-tropospheric levels persists.
Rainfall over and above 21 cm is graded as extremely heavy. Between 12 and 20 cm, it is very heavy and from 7 to 11 cm heavy. The classification is based on accumulated rainfall for a 24-hour duration (cm/day).
On Tuesday, 19 December, heavy rain is likely at one or two places in Kanyakumari, Tirunelveli, Thoothukudi and Tenkasi districts.
(With PTI inputs)
