Delta districts on high vigil to tackle Cyclone Michaung

Nagapattinam & Mayiladuthurai districts take precautions to prevent waterlogging; 346 relief camps activated; IMD predicts heavy rainfall; fishermen urged to stay ashore.

The coastal districts of Nagapattinam and Mayiladuthurai have put in place a slew of precautionary measures to prevent waterlogging in low-lying areas and stepped up vigil as the districts continue to witness widespread rainfall for the second day on Saturday because of the impact of cyclonic storm Michaung, which lies a few miles off the Tamil Nadu coast in the Bay of Bengal.

According to the data from Nagapattinam district administration, Kodiyakkarai received the maximum rainfall of 6.7 cm in the region during the 24 hours ending at 6 a.m. on Saturday. Nagapattinam received 3.6 cm, Thirukuvalai 5.5 cm, Vedaranyam 5.3 cm, and Velankanni 2.8 cm. The district administration has urged the local bodies to deploy super suckers to pump rainwater out of low-lying residential areas.

Several acres of paddy crops raised in the district have been submerged. Fishermen from the coastal villages of Akkaraipettai, Keechankuppam, Nambiyar Nagar, Samandhampettai, Serudhur, and Velankanni refrained from going out to the sea due to rough weather conditions. They have anchored their fishing boats at the Kaduvaiyar River estuary near Nagapattianm port.

Ramesh Chand Meena, Additional Chief Secretary, Department of Planning, Development and Special Initiatives and District Monitoring Officer and Collector Johny Tom Varghese conducted field inspections at various places in the district.

They urged the officials to take precautionary measures to tackle heavy rains and inspected the amenities provided for the evacuees from low-lying areas accommodated in the relief camps at Serudhur and Thalainayar. The officials also took stock of the inundated paddy crops at Meenabanallur.

Similarly, the fishermen of Mayiladuthurai district from coastal villages near Sirkazhi, Poompuhar, and Tharangambadi also abstained from fishing due to the prevailing weather conditions.

The Mayiladuthurai district administration has activated over 346 relief camps and identified 12 low-lying areas prone to inundation. Collector A. P. Mahabharathi directed the officials to step up vigil around the waterbodies and urged them to pump out rainwater from low-lying areas on a war footing.