Heavy rains continued to batter Tamil Nadu on Friday, killing seven people and flooding many parts, even as the deep depression over the Gulf of Mannar near Ramanathapuram weakened and turned into a depression, familiar officials said. with the matter.
The Indian Meteorological Department said the deep depression over the Gulf of Mannar near the coast of the Ramanathapuram district remained virtually stationary for 18 hours and then weakened into a depression.
“The depression is likely to remain practically stationary in the same region (Ramanathapuram) and weaken in a well-marked low pressure area over the next 12 hours (early Saturday),” the latest bulletin said.
A total of 27,391 people, including 4,873 children, have been evacuated and transferred to relief camps across the state. High water levels have caused severe damage to crops, as more than 40 hectares of paddy fields were damaged, officials familiar with the matter said.
According to the 1:00 pm bulletin from the Indian Meteorological Department, the deep depression is likely to remain stationary in the same region and weaken into a depression over the next 12 hours and move southwest through the Ramanathapuram district towards southern Kerala and weaken into a well-marked low pressure area. in the next 24 hours.
The chief minister, Edappadi Palaniswami, had announced a public holiday on December 4 for Kanyakumari, Tirunelveli, Tenkasi, Ramanathapuram, Virudhunagar and Thoothukudi and urged people to stay inside.
Puducherry Chief Minister V Narayanaswami inspected the flooded areas and pressure was placed on civic workers and machines to drain the water. The union territory had declared a holiday for schools in the union territory.
With contributions from the agency
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