The Regional Met department has predicted widespread rainfall in most of the coastal districts of Tamil Nadu for the next 48 hours. The prevailing low-pressure areas in the Southwest Bay of Bengal are likely to become a deep depression in the next 12 hours and are also likely to cross between North Tamil Nadu and South Andhra in 24 hours. Rains are bound to continue in the southern districts due to another low-pressure system which is static in the South Bay of Bengal. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K.Stalin chaired a meeting with senior officials of the government and also conversed with the district collectors in rainfall areas over video conferencing.
The Met department has predicted extremely heavy rains in Tiruvallur and Ranipet today and heavy to very heavy rains in some places at coastal Chennai, Tiruvallur, Chengalpet and some interior districts.
The water resources department has issued high alerts for residents along the Adyar and Kosasthalaiyar rivers with significant increases in the release of surplus water from Chembarambakkam and Poondi reservoirs from today. The measures have been taken to ensure dam safety amid rising inflows, expected to cause a rise in the water levels, impacting low-lying areas. 500 Cusecs of surplus water will be released from Chembarambakkam today. 3500 acres of salt fields have been affected in the Villupuram district.
Due to an extremely heavy rain warning, 64 teams have been formed in Tiruvallur District, and more than 500 trained volunteers have been called in to assist the State disaster management authority, according to the District Collector M. Pratap. People living in low-lying areas in Chennai have been shifted to 125 shelters, and more than one lakh people living in low-lying areas were given breakfast today, according to the State Government. More than 24 thousand first responders are working in the field as teams to assist in various capacities.
Rains are to continue for another 24 hours, and fishermen have been asked to stay away from the sea due to inclement weather. In the past 24 hours, two places have witnessed extremely heavy rains: more than 25 cms of rainfall in Pondicherry and nearby areas of Tamilnadu and in 23 places, very heavy rains and heavy rains in 53 places.