Chennai rains: Heavy rains reduce as depression weakens; red alert withdrawn; death toll at 14
Meanwhile, Andhra Pradesh is on alert with the NDRF and SDRF ready for action as the state receives heavy rain.
FollowThe unrelenting showers that battered the city and northern regions of Tamil Nadu slowed down on Friday morning as the depression over the Bay of Bengal crossed the coast near Chennai by evening. As a result, the red alert to Chennai, indicating extremely heavy rainfall, has been withdrawn after the depression weakened.
According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the depression crossed the north Tamil Nadu coast, close to Chennai, between 5.30 pm and 6.30 pm. It is very likely to move west northwestwards and weaken into a well-marked low pressure by Friday morning. In its latest bulletin, IMD said that the depression over north coastal Tamil Nadu weakened into a “well marked low pressure area” at 12 am on Friday morning over north Tamil Nadu and neighbourhood.
However, overnight rain lashed Chennai for over 15 hours on Thursday, flooding neighbourhoods, inundating major roads, disrupting power supply to more than 65,000 houses, delaying rail operations, and halting flight arrivals for about six hours. Officials said 14 deaths have been recorded across Tamil Nadu due to damage caused by heavy rains over the past 11 days.
Meanwhile, Andhra Pradesh is on alert with the NDRF and SDRF ready for action as the state receives heavy rain. Parts of Nellore and Chittoor districts in the state saw heavy to very heavy rainfall, and a few areas, including Tirupati, saw inundation and uprooting of trees due to the heavy downpour. Six relief camps have been set up in Chittoor district, and around 70 families have been evacuated from low-lying areas in Nellore district so far.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy directed officials to stay prepared with SDRF and NDRF teams and instructed the district collectors to set up relief camps for taking care of the people from inundated areas and to provide Rs 1,000 as a relief to every victim. The CM directed the authorities to set up a dedicated phone number for the flood victims and coordinate with other departments to evacuate people from flood-prone areas.
