Heavy downpours lash Tamil Nadu, roads flooded; Virudhunagar teen killed in wall collapse

CHENNAI: Heavy showers caused waterlogging in low-lying areas across Tamil Nadu, and districts such as Madurai and Virudhunagar received bounteous rain, bringing down temperatures in the region.

Dindigul, Erode, Perambalur, Ariyalur, Tiruvarur, Theni and many interior districts also received heavy rain.

A 17-year-old girl died, and her mother was injured after a wall of their rented house collapsed due to heavy rains at Mettamalai near Sattur in Virudhunagar district on Thursday night, police said on Friday. Sattur and its surrounding areas had experienced heavy downpours for over five hours prior to the collapse.

The deceased was identified as Muthuchelvi, a Class 12 student. Her mother, Solaiyammal, who sustained injuries in the incident, was admitted to the Sattur GH.

Meanwhile, the water level in the state's 89 reservoirs stood at 27.9% of their total capacity as on October 22, retaining 62.53 TMC against a capacity of 224.3 TMC. The storage rose by 1.02 TMC in the last 24 hours, but remained 134.4 TMC below the corresponding period last year, sources said.

The IMD said that a low-pressure area formed over East Central and adjoining Southeast Bay of Bengal at 5.30 am on Friday is most likely to persist over the same region and intensify into a depression on October 24. Thereafter, it is very likely to move west-northwestwards and intensify further into a deep depression on October 25 and into a cyclonic storm over the Westcentral Bay of Bengal by October 26 morning.

An official said that northern districts of Tamil Nadu may experience continued rain until October 26 due to existing atmospheric circulation. The arrival of the cyclone is expected to draw moisture away, leading to a decrease in rainfall across the state after October 26. Rainfall activity may resume in the first week of November after the storm makes landfall, he said.