Fresh rain woes in South, Thoothukudi battered
Kayalpattinam recorded the highest rainfall of 246 mm in the region till 4 pm on Thursday, followed by Tiruchendur with 217 mm
MADURAI/TIRUCHY/VELLORE: The southern and delta districts were in for a fresh round of havoc as heavy and steady rains battered most areas in the two regions on Thursday.
The daylong downpour threw normal life out of gear in most of the southern districts and Thoothukudi bore the maximum brunt. Several low-lying areas, which had already affected by the previous spell, were inundated, sources said.
As a precautionary measure, 25 persons of nine families, who reside at a locality between two channels, where the flow is heavy, at Valasamudram village in Ottapidaram taluk, were evacuated to safer places by the Fire and Rescue Services personnel, the Collector said.
The downpour was so intense that water was running in and around Lord Murugan Temple in Tiruchendur.
Tiruchendur Tahsildar A Swaminathan said a house at Muthumariamman Kovil Street, was damaged fully and three others at Moolakarai, Ammanpuram and Manickapuram in Meignanapuram were partially damaged. The inmates of three houses at Arunachalapuram in Kayalpattinam and 12 houses at Kombuthurai were shifted to a relief shelter as rain engulfed the locality.
Kayalpattinam recorded the highest rainfall of 246 mm in the region till 4 pm on Thursday, followed by Tiruchendur 217 mm Ku lase kara pattin am 110 mm and Sathankulam 83 mm. The Fisheries Department has advised fishermen not to venture into the sea.
Widespread rain in central districts
Widespread rains lashed the Delta region from Wednesday night and whole of Thursday. Two persons, including a five-year-old boy died in a wall collapse while one person was killed by lightning.
Though there was a brief break on Thursday, the downpour resumed in various districts, including Nagapattinam, Tiruvarur, Pudukkottai and Tiruchy.
In Thanjavur as many as 45 thatched houses and 14 tiled roofed houses were damaged in the rains and S Azarudeen (5), son of Saleem from Budalur died after the wall of his house collapsed around 2.30 am on Thursday. While Saleem, who got trapped in the debris, was rescued and rushed to the GH. Similarly, V Sivapakkiyam (85), of Peravurani in Thanjavur died on the spot after her hut collapsed. In Ariyalur, Thiyagarajan (50), a farmer from Senthurai, died after being struck by lightning while grazing goats.
Bodies of kids retrieved
Meanwhile, fire service personnel retrieved the bodies of two children, who were washed away in a tributary of Pambar river near Tirupattur on Thursday. Sanjana (3) daughter of Muthu and Nishant (2) son of Suresh both residents of Kurcilapattu near Tirupattur were playing in a tributary of the Pambar near their residence when they were suddenly pulled into the roiling water. On information, a fire and rescue services unit rushed to the spot and finally managed to retrieve the bodies of both the children.