Another landslide hits Tamil Nadu; 4 bodies recovered
Rescue efforts with over 100 personnel from multiple agencies have been going on since Sunday with the NDRF joining the operations on Monday.
A landslide hit the Tiruvannamalai district of Tamil Nadu on Monday even as operations to rescue three members of a family after a mudslide flattened their house in the region on Sunday continued for the second straight day.
Rescue efforts with over 100 personnel from multiple agencies have been going on since Sunday with the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) joining the operations on Monday.
Also read: Cyclone Fengal: Buses submerged as floods hit Tamil Nadu, relief operations underway
The Annamalayar hills area was rocked by four mudslides early on December 1 following incessant rain due to Cyclone Fengal. In its impact, a boulder fell on the house at around 4.30pm trapping a family of seven. “Four bodies have been recovered from the site,” a senior official said.
The second landslide occurred on Monday afternoon near a temple in the same area, but officials were yet to ascertain if there were any casualties.
On Monday, Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking aid, and highlighting that the cyclone has wreaked unprecedented havoc across 14 districts of the state.
“Given the magnitude of destruction, I urge the Honourable Prime Minister to release ₹2000 crore from the NDRF immediately to aid emergency restoration and rehabilitation efforts,” Stalin said.
Cyclone Fengal emerged as a Low-Pressure Area on November 23 and caused unprecedented devastation across 14 districts of Tamil Nadu. Initially, it brought heavy rainfall to the districts of Thanjavur, Tiruvarur, Nagapattinam, and Mayiladuthurai, the chief minister said in a letter to the Prime Minister.
Subsequently, districts such as Chennai, Thiruvallur, Kanchipuram, Chengalpattu, and Villupuram experienced extremely heavy rainfall. Upon its landfall on December 1, Villupuram, Kallakurichi, Cuddalore, and Tiruvannamalai, suffered extensive damage to roads, and electricity lines as wind speeds touched a very high velocity of 90 km/h.
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It also caused heavy inundation and damages in the interior districts of Dharmapuri, Krishnagiri, Ranipet, Vellore and Tirupathur.
“The deluge has caused extensive disruptions, inundating vast areas, displacing population and severely impacting infrastructure and livelihood,” Stalin said.
“I have personally visited some of the most affected districts today. The catastrophic event has resulted in a loss of 12 human lives, 2,416 huts, 721 houses, and 963 cattle, besides inundation of 2,11,139 hectares of agricultural and horticultural land,” he said.
Villupuram district in north Tamil Nadu continued to reel from unprecedented flooding on Monday following extremely heavy rainfall, virtually blocking access to villages and residential colonies as bridges and roads overflowed, inundating huge acreage of standing crops and affected rail and road traffic, leaving passengers stranded.
A total of 48 trains via Villupuram were affected, and Southern Railway in the evening announced restoration of services with speed restrictions and underlined that all efforts were underway to restore all the services in the route.
In Puducherry, which witnessed 48.4 cm rains and four rain-related deaths, chief minister N Rangasamy announced a slew of relief measures, which includes ₹5 lakh each to the kin of the deceased and ₹5,000 to each of the 3.54 lakh families under the Public Distribution system.
Meanwhile, India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a warning of significant rainfall in Kerala due to cyclone Fengal, currently positioned as a strong low-pressure area over northern Tamil Nadu.
The system is expected to intensify as it moves towards the Arabian Sea, passing over northern Kerala and Karnataka by December 3, the IMD said.
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