School compound wall collapses in rain

Heavy rain, which lasted for about 90 minutes since noon on Saturday, led to the collapse of a wall of a government school in Valliyoor in Tirunelveli district. ,

Many residential areas such as Pandithar Street were under knee-deep water. Many low-lying areas were inundated and Fire and Rescue Service personnel moved stranded people to safety through boats.

The Kottiyadi village was submerged in water and the residents were unable to reach the relief centres. The bus stand, a bridge close to the railway station and the panchayat office, were also filled with rainwater.

Radhapuram Tahsildar Jesuraj said that they had deployed personnel to rescue aged people who were caught inside their dwellings. The people were told to move out from their houses to relief centres. The nonchalant attitude of the residents had complicated the issue, an official from the disaster management team said.

The panchayat office staff were unable to come out of the office as the premises was inundated. There was rampant encroachment of buildings into water bodies, activists said.