Fishermen not to enter sea for next 2 days after IMD alert for south coast

Moreover, State Revenue Minister RB Udhayakumar on Monday reviewed cyclone warning arrangements taken up along coastal Tamil Nadu. The state government also instructed Public Works Department to reduce water levels in all major dams.

Addressing reporters here, Udhayakumar said that five teams of State Disaster Response Force have been dispatched to four districts. Two teams have been dispatched for Kanniyakumari and one team each for Coimbatore, Madurai and Nilgiris, the Minister said. The State is making all efforts to trace the missing fishermen in Kanniyakumari, he said. More than 500 vessels had ventured in to the sea last week and 46 boats of them are not reachable.

The monsoon is active in the state and 29 districts including Coimbatore, Nilgiris, Theni and Salem have received surplus rain. Usually, the state receives an average of 35.4 mm of rainfall in the first week of October, whereas, it has recorded a surplus of 132 per cent, receiving 82 mm rainfall, the Minister said.

According to the Commissioner of Revenue Administration and Disaster Management, K Sathyagopal, each SDRF squad comprises of 30 trained members and the first batch is positioned to handle natural calamities if any. All the district Collectors have been briefed to follow the protocol in case of heavy rains and flooding, the official said. 

Based on the instructions from the Revenue department, the PWD engineers are also releasing the surplus water from Mettur, Bhavani Sagar and Pykhara dams.