In view of the forecast of heavy rain in parts of Tamil Nadu, Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami on Monday chaired a meeting at the Secretariat to review the arrangements made.
Commissioner for Revenue Administration J. Radhakrishnan made a presentation to Ministers and officials, detailing the precautionary measures put in place.
A total of 639 zonal teams have been set up to identify vulnerable areas.
"So far [till Monday morning], a total of eight persons have been killed in rain-related incidents on November 29 and 30 and December 1 [excluding the 17 deaths in Mettupalayam], and eight others have been injured. A total of 58 heads of livestock have been killed in these incidents, and 1,305 huts and 465 houses with tiled roofs have been destroyed," stated an official release. The Chief Minister has instructed officials to disburse compensation. People have been lodged in relief camps in Cuddalore (805), Tirunelveli (38) and Thoothukudi (73) districts, respectively.
Besides multi-purpose centres to house people from low-lying and waterlogged areas, 4,768 schools, 105 colleges, 2,394 wedding halls and community centres have been readied to house those who have been displaced. Over 2,100 generators and 480 pumps have been sourced. Around one lakh electric poles have been kept ready should the need arise, according to the release.
Besides 1,000 personnel from the SDRF, over 4,100 people trained by the NDRF and the SDRF and 1,800 other personnel have been deputed to various districts. Around 6,600 personnel have been deployed across Chennai district.
