Relief measures in place: Revenue official

Speaking to the media, Satyagopal said they had already identified the low-lying areas, and  local teams comprising of Revenue, Police, and Fire & Rescue Services were on standby. Mobile phone service providers were told to stock adequate quantities of diesel, in case of power outage, to ensure network connectivity. 

“Nagapattinam and Cuddalore are identified as the most vulnerable to NE rains, and there are nil reports of life-loss from there. A fatal lightning incident was reported in Kancheepuram. Two were reportedly killed by it. A report on the same is expected from the district administration soon. Based on which, we would go into it,” he said. “During the December deluge of 2015, Kancheeapuram’s woes were compounded by flooding in Adyar and Vegavathi rivers. As part of risk reduction, several works have been undertaken in both the rivers,” he added. 

As regards people affected in Mudichur – Varadarajapuram, the official said that they would arrange alternate shelters until the water drains. “Every relief measure in compliance with National Disaster Management and Mitigation guideline will be made available to the affected. Similarly, the state had setup as many as 115 multi-purpose evacuation centres, and as many as 3,220 state-buildings, to be used as shelters during times of flooding,” he said.

Responding to a question on the Centre’s funding for NE monsoon, the official observed that a 10-point agenda on disaster mitigation was already in place at the national level and was recently restates on a routine basis, while a 25 per cent flexi funding for disaster mitigation was also being mooted,” he added.