With the northeast monsoon remaining active, rain lashed many parts of the State on Wednesday. The situation in several areas of Nagapattinam got accentuated with choked channels and waterways.
As on Wednesday morning, the death toll in the State because of rain over the last two months is 110. Nearly 13,600 huts were partially damaged, of which 8,135 were in the Cuddalore district. Around 2,925 huts were fully damaged, according to a senior official of the Revenue Department.
During the 24-hour-period that ended at 8-30 a.m. on Wednesday, Parangipettai (Cuddalore district) recorded 22 cm; Cholavaram (Thiruvallur) – 13 cm; Kollidam (Nagapattinam) 10 cm; Chidambaram (Cuddalore) 9 cm and Cuddalore, Sethiyathope (Cuddalore), Orathanadu (Thanjavur) and Ambasamudram (Tirunelveli) 8 cm each.
In Vedaranyam and Thalainayar of the Nagapattinam district, drainage was slowed down by choked channels, especially along the rivers of Maanankondan, Mulli, and Chellaikon. For farmers, the slow drainage has increased the risk of harvest loss.
Paddy crops on 28,000 hectares in Thanjavur district and on 67,664 hectares in Tiruvarur district were inundated. The resumption of rain, after a couple of days' let-up, triggered apprehensions over fresh inundation of crops in Tiruchi district. The Agriculture Department was conducting an enumeration to assess the extent of crop damages.
The Public Works Department continued to divert the entire rain flow into the Coleroon from the Upper Anicut near Tiruchi in view of heavy rain in the delta. On Wednesday, about 9,870 cubic feet per second (cusecs) was let into the Coleroon. There was a substantial flow of rainwater in the Uyyakondan and Kudamuritti. M. Chandrasekaran, Tiruvarur Collector, said 10 feeding centres were opened. M. S. Shanmugham, Thanjavur Collector, said samba crop had been affected. All schools in Tiruvarur, Nagapattinam and Karaikal have been declared shut for Thursday.
