Heavy rain likely in TN, orange alert issued for Nov 26

Several schools in Ramanathapuram and Nagapattinam districts were closed on Thursday due to heavy rainfall

Chennai: The Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC) issued an orange alert for Tamil Nadu on November 26 as an upper-level cyclonic circulation is expected to form over the South Andaman Sea and its surrounding areas within the next 24 hours.

This is likely to develop into a low-pressure area in the southeast Bay of Bengal by November 23. The weather department has predicted heavy rain in Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and its Karaikkal regions on November 25, followed by very heavy rainfall on November 26.

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Several schools in Ramanathapuram and Nagapattinam districts were closed on Thursday due to heavy rainfall. Rameswaram and Pamban in Ramanathapuram district experienced significant rainfall on Wednesday, with Rameswaram recording 41 cm and Pamban 19 cm. A cloudburst in the Pamban and Thangachimadam areas on Wednesday resulted in 24 cm of rain within two hours, causing heavy inundation in these locations.

Other parts of Ramanathapuram district also witnessed substantial downpours, with the overall district rainfall averaging 10 cm. In Tirunelveli district, hilly areas along the Western Ghats, such as Nalumukku, Oothu, Kakkachi, and Manjolai, recorded rainfall of 16.6 cm, 15.4 cm, 13.6 cm, and 9.8 cm, respectively, on Wednesday.

Heavy rain inundated thousands of acres of farmland, affecting Samba crops in Tiruvarur, Mayiladuthurai, and Nagapattinam districts. Farmers reported severe water stagnation, which has destroyed crops in several areas. Murugesan Perumal, a 52-year-old farmer from Thanjavur, said heavy rain flooded Samba paddy fields, devastating thousands of acres of crops.

He attributed the damage to the lack of proper de-silting of irrigation canals, particularly the Ottai Vaical canal, which serves as both an irrigation channel and a stormwater drain. Farmers revealed that approximately 500 acres of farmland connected to the canal were submerged due to vegetation overgrowth and accumulated silt. It may be noted that from October 1 to November 15, Tamil Nadu received 276 mm of rainfall during the Northeast Monsoon.

Coimbatore recorded the highest rainfall at 418 mm, which is 67 per cent above normal. While 17 districts, including Chennai, reported excess rainfall, others recorded deficits. With the state receiving consistent rainfall since the onset of the monsoon on October 17, nearly 90 reservoirs across the state are over 60 per cent full.

Tamil Nadu’s reservoirs currently hold 143.804 tmcft (thousand million cubic feet) of water, which is 64.11 per cent of their total capacity of 224.297 tmcft.

This is a significant increase compared to the same period last year when storage levels stood at 79.514 tmcft (35.58 per cent). The Mettur reservoir, a critical water source, has a storage level of 62,140 mcft, a 384 per cent increase from 2023, while the Bhavanisagar reservoir recorded 21,141 mcft, reflecting a 210 per cent rise from last year.