After Cyclone Burevi weakened late in the evening of Thursday, a majority of the southern districts had a sunny and bright Friday, officials said. However, many towns received widespread rain in the evening.
According to reports, many districts experienced mild rainfall. Some areas in Thoothukudi city and its periphery received rain but not as forecast by the India Meteorological Department. In fact, a majority of the towns, like Usilampatti in Madurai district and Seelapadi in Dindigul district, remained sultry till Friday noon.
Due to the overnight rain, a tree had fallen near Poomparai in the upper Kodaikanal hills. It was removed in the morning.
The district administration suspended traffic in the ghat section at Thursday night. However, as the cyclone weakened and there was no rain, vehicles coming from Palani and Batlagundu, which were detained at the foothills of Kodaikanal, were allowed to proceed from noon.
A Kerala-registered car toppled near Perumalmalai close to the upper hills. Passersby saved the passengers. The waterfalls were getting copious water as it had rained in the interior parts.
Heavy showers
Ramanathapuram district, which had been at the centre of the cyclone till Thursday evening, received heavy rain. Rameswaram alone received 204 mm, according to the data released by the district administration. Collector Dinesh Ponraj Oliver, who visited the Rameswaram and Mandapam areas, appealed to the people living in the low-level areas to shift to relief centres as rain had been predicted for the next 24 hours. The district recorded an average rainfall of 53.05 mm at 16 rain-gauge stations.
The incessant rain damaged the compound wall of the 300-year-old Portuguese Church at Dhanushkodi. The administration had evacuated nearly 360 people from the hamlet to a relief centre.
A few parts of Thoothukudi district recorded moderate rainfall of 3 cm against the predicted 20 cm. After the rain in the morning created pools in several parts of Thoothukudi that received just 2.9 cm, civic workers pumped out the stagnant water. Though Madurai, Theni, Tirunelveli, Tenkasi, Virudhunagar and Kanniyakumari had no rain during the day, the wet spell forced the district administration to keep a close watch on low-lying areas, officials said. Vehicular movement was normal in many towns.
The Madurai airport, which was closed as a precautionary measure, was opened at noon, officials said. Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami, who was in Madurai and Sivaganga during the day, left for Chennai by flight, officials said.
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