 "Tamilnadufloods")
As Tamil Nadu struggles with extremely heavy rains, the state government has declared a holiday for all schools, colleges, and banks in four districts - Tirunelveli, Kanyakumari, Thoothukudi, and Tenkasi. The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a "heavy rain alert" for the next seven days in Tamil Nadu. The weather agency for Thoothukudi, Dindigul, Coimbatore, and Thiruppur districts has issued an orange alert.
The situation is likely to improve from Tuesday, December 19, onwards as the IMD expects light to moderate rain at a few places in South Tamilnadu, at one or two places over north Tamilnadu, Puducherry, and Karaikal with thunderstorms and lightning at one or two places.
The heavy rainfall has resulted in waterlogging in several areas. Several trains in the region were either fully or partially cancelled as water entered train yards and submerged rail tracks. Thiruchendur in the Tuticorin district recorded a 606 mm rainfall till 1:30 am on Monday, December 18. The southern part of Tamil Nadu has recorded light to moderate rain in most places.
Chief Minister Stalin taking stock of relief work
Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin said, "I have instructed the DMK workers from the rain-affected districts to help the public and support officials involved in the relief work." I am keeping a keen eye on the developments, he added.
The state government has swung into action and has sent ministers to the four affected districts to carry out relief work. Besides this, the government has also appointed four senior IAS officers to ensure speedy relief work, a PTI report said. State and National Disaster Relief Forces (NDRF) have been deployed in the affected districts.
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On Sunday, Chief Secretary of the state Shiv Das Meena conducted a meeting with the district collectors of the four districts over video conferencing.
SDRF teams set up safety camps
State Disaster Management Minister KKSSR Ramachandran has said that 250 SDRF and NDRF are on duty in the Kanyakumari, Tirunelveli, Thootukudi, and Tenkasi districts. An ANI report cited KKSSR as saying, "As a precautionary measure, 19 camps have been set up in Tirunelveli district, four camps in Kanyakumari district, two camps in Thoothukudi district and one camp in Tenkasi district to accommodate the people evacuated during calamities."
People living in low-lying areas and those residing near reservoirs were issued advisories. Private companies have also been asked to operate only with essential staff.
What is the current situation of rain?
The four southernmost districts of Tamil Nadu on the eastern coast of India, Tenkasi, Thoohukudi, Tirunelveli, and Kanyakumari, are expected to receive "very heavy rain" on Monday, December 18. "Very heavy rain" amounts to 12-20 cm per day. On December 17, the IMD issued a red alert for these districts, which means more than 21 cm of rain in a day.
In Kovilpatti, Ettayapuram, Vilathikulam, Kalugumalai, Kayathar, Kadambur, Vembar, Surangudi, and other areas of Thoothukudi district, the rain has not stopped since Sunday morning. The rivers and lakes around Kovilpatti have reached their full capacity and the water has started overflowing, according to an ANI report.
In Tirunelveli districts, people affected by the floods have been relocated to relief camps in Thachanallur. The district administration is providing the people with food items and other essentials, the ANI report said.
Why is Tamil Nadu facing such heavy rains?
The rain in Tamil Nadu from October to December is an annual phenomenon primarily caused by the northeast monsoons (NEM). The northeast monsoon contributes 11 per cent to India's annual rainfall, compared to the 75 per cent by the Southwest monsoon. The normal onset of NEM in India is October 20.
Similar to the southwest monsoon that arrives in India in June and drenches until September, the northeast monsoon is a significant part of the country's climate system. Its name has been taken from the direction of flow of the monsoon winds, which blow from northeast to southwest during October to December.
Thus, the NEM picks up water from the Bay of Bengal and showers it over the southern states of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, South Telangana, and Karnataka during the October-December period. The northeast monsoon is also known as a retreating monsoon since the direction of monsoon winds reverses as compared to the southwest monsoon.
