Heavy rain is likely to occur at isolated places over Kanyakumari, Tirunelveli, Thoothukudi, Ramanathapuram and Tenkasi districts, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Feb. 02. The depression over the southwest Bay of Bengal moved West-South Westwards at 15 km per hour and crossed the Sri Lanka coast on Feb. 02 morning bringing heavy rainfall in South districts which affected normalcy. According to IMD, the system in the Bay of Bengal is likely to continue to move West-South westwards across South Sri Lanka and emerge into Comorin and the adjoining Gulf of Mannar off the West Coast of Sri Lanka by early morning of February 3. Notably, because of the Depression in the Bay of Bengal, heavy rains lashed the southern districts of the state, especially Nagapattinam, Thiruvarur and Mayiladuthurai. In the last 24 hours, Vedaranyam of Nagapattinam districts recorded 7 cm of rainfall. Kodiayakarai (in Nagapattinam district), and Thirupoondi (in Nagapattinam district) received 6 cm of rainfall, while Thalaignayiru (in Nagapattinam district) recorded 4 cm of rainfall. In the wake of continuous heavy rainfall, schools and colleges in Nagapattinam and Thiruvarur districts have been shut on Feb. 02, senior officials said. In Nagapattinam and Thiruvarur, where farming is a major dependency of the local people, farmers have been affected because of the continuous rainfall.
