At least 17 killed as wall collapses in TN amid heavy rainfall
COIMBATORE: At least 17 people, including two children, were killed in their sleep when a portion of a 15-feet high private compound wall fell amid incessant rains on Monday and buried a row of adjoining tiled-roof houses at Nadur in Tamil Nadu’s Coimbatore district, officials said.
Chief minister K Palaniswami announced a compensation of ~4 lakh each to the kin of those killed. Apart from Nadur, rains have claimed eight more lives across the state since November 29, an official release said.
CHENNAI/NEWDELHI:AT least 17 people, including 10 women and two children, were killed in their sleep when a portion of a 15-feethigh private compound wall fell amid incessant rains on Monday and buried a row of adjoining tiled-roof houses at Nadur in Tamil Nadu’s Coimbatore district, officials said.
The heavy rains that have lashed the state triggered the wall collapse in Nadur a day after Chennai’s Regional Meteorological Centre on Sunday predicted more showers over the next two days and issued a red alert for six districts. Rain-related incidents claimed five lives on Saturday in the state.
Officials said rescuers have retrieved the bodies from the debris in Nadur with the assistance of locals and police.
Chief minister Edappadi K Palaniswami chaired a high-level meeting to take stock of the situaduring tion and review rescue operations. Palaniswami announced a compensation of ~4 lakh each for the families of the 17 from the State Disaster Relief Fund.
Apart from the 17 deaths in Nadur, the rains have claimed eight more lives since November 29, an official release said.
“The northeast monsoon is active and Tamil Nadu has received 11% more than the average rainfall. Rains are likely to continue due to the presence of a trough over the bay and a low pressure area over the South West Arabian sea. It is likely to turn into a depression in the next 24 hours, bringing more rains,” S Balachandran, MET office director, told the media.
Meanwhile, a well-marked low pressure area over southwest Arabian Sea and the adjoining equatorial Indian Ocean is likely to intensify into a cyclonic storm the next 48 hours but is unlikely to affect the Indian coast.
Another low pressure area over southeast Arabian Sea and adjoining Lakshadweep area will intensify into a depression on Tuesday and bring more rain over Peninsular India, according to IMD. This low pressure area has formed due to intense easterly wave activity and is already bringing widespread and heavy rainfall in many places in Peninsular India, scientists said.
“Under the influence of an active easterly wave, there will be fairly widespread to widespread rainfall with heavy to very heavy falls at some places over Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Karaikal, Kerala, Mahe and Lakshadweep,” IMD bulletin said.
RK Jenamani, senior scientist at National Weather Forecasting Centre, said, “Tamil Nadu has been receiving very heavy rainfall because of the active easterly wave, which is very similar to the western disturbances that bring rain to north India in winter...”