With Tamil Nadu set to witness heavy rains yet again, many districts, including Chennai, declared holidays for educational institutions on November 26, Friday. Eighteen districts have declared holidays for both schools and colleges, which include Chennai, Kanniyakumari, Cuddalore, Mayiladuthurai, Nagapattinam, Thanjavur, Perambalur, Tiruchirappalli, Theni, Dindigul, Ariyalur, Virudhunagar, Pudukkottai, Thoothukudi, Tirunelveli, Tenkasi, Viluppuram and Tiruvarur. Seven districts have declared only a school holiday, which includes Tiruvallur, Ramanathapuram, Sivaganga, Kallakurichi, Chengalpattu, Kanchipuram, and Tiruvannamalai.
On Thursday, November 25, heavy rain lashed several parts of Tamil Nadu, including Thoothukudi and Ramanathapuram districts. Visuals showed the Thiruchendur temple complex in Thoothukudi completely flooded due to the heavy rainfall. Meanwhile, the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) issued an orange warning for Chennai on November 26 and 27.
Ramanathapuram District Collector held a meeting of officials of various departments, and the situation of low-lying areas of the district including Paramakudi and RS Mangalam are being constantly monitored by revenue and disaster management authorities. Tourism officials of the district said that since the arrival of the northeast monsoon and heavy rains, the flow of pilgrims to the temple town of Rameswaram has taken a beating.
Ramanathapuram district administration has opened a special control room and helpline numbers to the public for any assistance and the public can contact helpline number 1077. Rameswaram recorded 76.20mm rainfall, Pamban 42.10 mm, and Thangachimadam 30.50 mm.
According to the IMD weather forecast, thunderstorms with heavy to very heavy rains are likely to occur at isolated places over Kanyakumari, Tirunelveli, and Tenkasi districts on November 26. Thunderstorm with heavy rain is also likely to occur at isolated places over Thoothukudi, Cuddalore, Villupuram, Chengalpattu, Chennai, Kancheepuram, Tiruvallur, Theni, Madurai, Pudukkottai and Puducherry. Thunderstorms with moderate rain are likely to occur at most places over the rest of Tamil Nadu and Karaikal. Parts of Andhra Pradesh are also likely to witness heavy rains again over the next five days, the IMD said on Thursday, November 26.
With IANS inputs