Rain claims 14 lives in TN as heavy downpour continue to batter

Normal life was paralysed in Tamil Nadu especially in the northern coastal districts including the state capital as heavy rain battered the region bringing back the memories of the December 2015 deluge, even as the death toll rose to 14 due to downpour-related incidents.

Chennai was the worst affected area that registered maximum rainfall of 30 cm in the span of just eight hours starting from Thursday night.

Heavy thundershowers did not even spare DMK president M Karunanidhi and Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam. Their houses in the city were surrounded by flood water.

"Low-pressure area now lies over the southwest Bay of Bengal off Sri Lanka and Tamil Nadu coast. Under this influence, heavy rain is likely to occur over coastal Tamil Nadu and Puducherry in the next 48 hours," Dr S Balachandran, deputy director general of Meteorology said.

According to him, apart from Chennai, Thiruvallur, Kancheepuram, Cuddalore, Nagapattinam, even the southern districts such as Tirunelveli and Thanjavur districts received copious rain during the last 24 hours.
The Southern Railways sources said most of the trains from southern districts arrived late by several hours on Friday morning.

Similarly, Chennai airport officials also said the takeoff and landing of several flights were delayed especially on Thursday night.

Schools, colleges and educational institutions were closed for the third consecutive day with Tamil Nadu government also requesting the private firms in Chennai to declare a holiday on Friday.

14 dead

Meanwhile, the death toll due to rain-related incidents rose to 14 with five persons dead between Thursday night and Friday morning alone.

A 19-year-old public works department contract labourer was washed away after he slipped into the Buckingham canal in north Chennai while on duty at Basin Bridge.

In another incident, a 60-year-old man drowned near Vivekananda House in the city.

Similarly, a 62-year-old woman died in Kancheepuram district after the sidewall of her house fell on her. A 24-year-old tea vendor, Prashant died due to lightning at T-Nagar area in Chennai.

In Thiruvarur district a 56-year-old farmer was drowned in the flood water.