Tamil Nadu on alert for very heavy rain on Sunday

Chennai: The India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Thursday issued a red alert for Tamil Nadu on 7 October, as very heavy rain is expected to lash the southern state. As conditions are expected to be “rough to very rough”, fishermen are advised not to venture into the sea till 8 October. The IMD has warned that Tamil Nadu may see more than 25 cm rainfall on Sunday. “Fishermen are advised not to venture into the southeast and central Arabian Sea from 6 October onwards. Fishermen in deep sea areas of southeast and central Arabian Sea are advised to return to coast before 6 October,” the IMD warning said. The last time Tamil Nadu was issued a red alert was when the northern districts, including Chennai, were flooded in 2015. The IMD warning on Thursday morning said heavy to very heavy rain was likely at isolated places over Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Kerala and heavy rain at isolated places over coastal Karnataka, Andaman & Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep. The Tamil Nadu revenue department has directed all the district collectors in the state, especially the coastal districts, to be prepared to face the heavy rain and set up relief camps. Tamil Nadu chief secretary Girija Vaidyanathan held a meeting with officials of the revenue department on Thursday to discuss preparatory measures. On Thursday, holiday was declared for schools in Tiruvarur, Cuddalore, Nagapattinam, Pudukkottai, Salem and Puducherry, following heavy rainfall on Wednesday night and Thursday morning. On Wednesday, a red alert was issued for Idukki, Thrissur and Palakkad districts in Kerala, while a lower level alert was issued in most other districts. The red alert is issued for “extremely heavy rain” with intensity of more than 21 cm. While “heavy rain” is indicated in yellow with a range of 7 to 11 cm rainfall, amber coloured warnings are issued for “very heavy rain” rainfall in the range of 12-20 cm. Source: Livemint