Days after heavy rains, several parts of the southern Tamil Nadu district remains inundated. On 18 December, Thoothukudi received 95 cm of rainfall.
Published Dec 23, 2023 | 6:39 PM ⚊ Updated Dec 23, 2023 | 6:39 PM
Tamil Nadu witnessed heavy rains that have caused severe flooding. (X)
Relief activities continued in the rain-ravaged coastal district of Thoothukudi in Tamil Nadu, while an NDRF team accompanied by police rescued the people marooned in the SIPCOT industrial area on Saturday, 23 December.
The NDRF team along with the SIPCOT police rescued the flood-affected women and children by boat and provided them with food.
Tamil Nadu Chief Secretary Shiv Das Meena undertook an inspection of the flood-hit areas in the district on Saturday and assessed the damage due to rains. Relief activity is in full swing in the Antoniyarpuram area, which was among the worst affected.
On Monday, 18 December, Thoothukudi received 95 cm of rainfall.
A bridge near Antoniyarpuram on the Thoothukudi-Palayamkottai National Highway was breached during the extreme rainfall on 17 and 18 December, which triggered floods while the bridges at Eral and Attur on the Thoothukudi-Tiruchendur road have also been severely damaged.
Restoration work is also on at Srivaikuntam, Attur, Eral, Agaram, and Kayalpattinam areas which are still inundated.
A central team had already inspected the flood damages in the district.
Thoothukudi MP Kanimozhi Karunanidhi, on Friday, 22 December, said that such heavy rains were unprecedented and there was nothing much the government could do to prevent the flooding.
“More than one-and-a-half lakh cusecs of water were flowing every day from the Thamirabarani river and several tanks also got breached. The amount of water was not containable and that caused this devastation,” said Kanimozhi.
“She said that the first concern of the officials was to shift people to safer places but they were not cooperating immediately saying that the water never reached their area even in their grandfather’s time,” she added.
“Every time I visit people, they are saying that even in their grandfather’s days water has never come here,” she said adding that the situation was so bad.
“The culverts and canals were rendered inefficient due to the massive deluge and as a result, the water continued to stagnate in many places,” Shiv Das Meena said.
Describing the rains in Thoothukudi and Tirunelveli districts as “historic”, the Chief Secretary said about 150 cm rainfall was received in 40 hours in an area of 8,500 sq km in these two districts. “This is a huge quantum…the water naturally has to drain to the sea,” he said and added efforts were on to bale out the water.
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday said, that 31 lives have been lost in the four rain affected districts.
The team under National Disaster Management Authority (Operation and Communication) Advisor KP Singh visited the waterlogged area at the Tirunelveli junction bus stand and interacted with the officials.
Nearly 40 lakh people in the Tirunelveli and Thoothukudi districts were badly hit by the record rains while Srivaikuntam and villages near Tiruchendur suffered great damage due to flooding in the Thamirabarani river.
The Thoothukudi government hospital is among the several places where water is stagnating. “A total of 64 Primary Health centres and 261 health sub-centres have been affected due to rains in Tirunelveli, Thoothukudi, Tenkasi and Kanyakumari districts,” Health Minister Ma Subramanian said after inspecting the health facilities.
Speaking to reporters in Thoothukudi, he said mega medical camps would be held at 50 places including Srivaikuntam and Eral on Sunday, 24 December, for the benefit of the people.
Agriculture Minister MRK Panneerselvam inspected the distribution of 70 tonnes of vegetables at subsidised rates through the horticulture department to the people affected by floods in Ettaiyapuram and other areas.
(With PTI inputs)
