Thousands of acres of lands under paddy and plantain cultivation are inundated.

The rains, caused by a trough of low pressure in the Arabian Sea between Maldives and Lakshadweep and which has since moved closer to Kerala coast, wreaked havoc in southern Tamil Nadu where most casualties were reported. In northern Tamil Nadu, Chennai recorded seven centimetre rain in the last 24 hours, a record of sorts for March.

Southern towns like Tirunelveli and Tuticorin were flooded after a period of 16 years. In the catchment areas of the Cauvery; the water level at Mettur stood at 91.20 ft on Monday morning, against the full tank level of 120 ft.

In rain-related incidents, Thanjavur, Nagapattinam, Virudhunagar, Pudukottai accounted for two deaths each while Tiruchi, Tirunelveli, and Tuticorin and Cuddalore reported one death each.

Significantly, the budget session of the Tamil Nadu assembly has been put on hold to facilitate MLAs and ministers to visit rain-ravaged places in the State.

An official release said the House, which was originally scheduled to meet on Monday would instead resume its sittings on March 26 to take up debate on the State budget.

Meanwhile, Chief Minster M Karunanidhi told reporters that a solatium of Rs one lakh would be given to the family of the victims of rain and flood.

He said that a total of 270 revenue villages were affected, and nine persons had lost their lives.

As an immediate measure, an amount of Rs 100 crore has been allotted for undertaking flood relief works.

Compensation will also be given for loss of cattle. Affected families will be given five kgs of rice, one litre of kerosene besides a sari and dhoti. The Chief Minister also said the State had asked the Centre for Rs 1500-crore assistance.