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by IANS |
Chennai, Jan 27 (IANS) The Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC), Chennai, has forecast heavy rainfall in four districts of Tamil Nadu on Thursday, January 30.
According to the RMC, Tirunelveli, Kanniyakumari, Thoothukudi, and Ramanathapuram districts are expected to experience heavy rains due to the influence of light to moderate easterly and northeasterly winds prevailing over the region at lower tropospheric levels.
The meteorological department also noted that conditions are becoming favourable for the cessation of the Northeast Monsoon over Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, and Karaikal districts.
In Chennai and its suburbs, the sky is expected to remain partly cloudy over the next few days.
Tamil Nadu has received 14 per cent excess rainfall during the ongoing Northeast Monsoon season, with 447 mm of rain recorded against the average of 393 mm.
Chennai registered 845 mm of rainfall — 16 per cent above average — while Coimbatore saw a significant 47 per cent increase compared to its seasonal average.
Cyclone Fengal, which impacted Tamil Nadu and Puducherry between November and December, brought heavy to very heavy rainfall due to a low-pressure system over the southern Bay of Bengal.
The cyclone caused widespread destruction, resulting in the loss of 12 lives and inundating 2,11,139 hectares of agricultural and horticultural land, severely affecting farmers.
The infrastructure damage included 1,649 kms of electric conductors, 23,664 electric poles, 997 transformers, 9,576 kms of roads, 1,847 culverts and 417 tanks.
Numerous houses and huts were also damaged, with Villupuram, Tiruvannamalai, and Kallakurichi districts recording over 50 cm of rainfall in a single day — equivalent to an entire season’s average. This led to severe flooding and extensive crop damage.
The Tamil Nadu government reported that 69 lakh families and 1.5 crore individuals were affected by the cyclone.
In response, Chief Minister M.K. Stalin wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, requesting Rs 2,000 crore as interim relief from the National Disaster Response Fund.
The state government’s initial damage assessment estimated a need for Rs 2,475 crore for relief and reconstruction.
The Central government sanctioned Rs 944 crore as interim relief for the affected regions.
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