Twenty-eight districts in Tamil Nadu have declared a holiday for schools and colleges on Friday, November 11, due to heavy rain. The districts include Chennai, Chengalpattu, Kancheepuram, Thiruvalluvar, Mayiladuthurai, Thiruvarur, Nagapattinam, Thanjavur, Vellore, Ranipet, Villupuram, Ariyalur, Cuddalore, Perambalur, Pudukottai, Thiruvannamalai, Ramanathapuram, Kallakurichi, Tiruchirapalli, Madurai, Theni, Dindigul and Karur. Four districts have declared holiday only for schools which include Sivagangai, Namakkal, Tirupattur (holiday declared for students till grade 8) and Dharmapuri.
Holiday for schools and colleges on November 11 and 12 have been declared in Puducherry and Karaikal as well.
Various parts of Chennai and Tamil Nadu are expected to recieve moderate to heavy rains on November 11 as well. According to the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), Sholinghur, Pallipattu, Kalavai and Walajapet will receive moderate rain through the morning. Kundrathur and Vandalur is also expected to recieve moderate showers through the day.
The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) in Arakkonam has deployed four teams in Tamil Nadu in anticipation of heavy rain and flooding. The NDRF has been deployed in Theni, Dindigul, Nilgiris and Ranipet. In a statement, the NDRF said that all the four teams are self-contained and equipped with flood rescue equipment, collapsed structure search and rescue equipment and advanced communication equipments. The statement added that their control room will function 24/7 and is monitoring the rain situation. There is also constant communication with the NDRF headquarters and Tamil Nadu state administration for immediate response in case the situation becomes worse.
Orange alert has been issued for various states in the south including Kerala and Andhra Pradesh till Saturday, November 12.