Disaster Management team on board to expedite rescue works in south Tamil Nadu

Madurai district Disaster Response Teams on alert for rescue & rehabilitation due to flood warning in 5 districts. 27 vulnerable areas identified, 50 relief shelters ready.

With rains lashing parts of Madurai district and other southern districts, the State Disaster Management Authority in Madurai on December 18 instructed officials to have the district disaster response teams on board to expedite rescue and rehabilitation works, if required.

Storage in the Vaigai dam reached 68 feet against its capacity of 71 feet. Following this flood warning was issued to low-lying areas in five districts. Officials said the water from the dam would be opened anytime in the evening after giving an alert to the people again. 

A disaster management authority official said around 27 vulnerable areas have been identified including 16 in cities and 11 in rural areas, in the Madurai district where the fire and rescue department team have conducted mock drill exercises. 

“Instructions have been given to all the five teams - Interdepartmental nodal officers team (11 teams), early warning team (35 teams), relief and rescue team (35 teams), restoration team (35 teams) and shelter and food team (21 teams),” he added. 

Each team would have internal teams of their own to manage the operation and all the team heads like Revenue Division Officer (RDO), Corporation Assistant Commissioners, Municipality officials and Block Development Officers (BDO) were instructed to alert their respective teams for any emergency, the official said.  

“In addition to this, rescue and evacuation committee and traffic management committees, comprising officials at district, sub-divisional and taluk level with eight members each, are on board,” he said.  

About 50 relief shelters — schools, colleges, community halls — are ready to accommodate people. Further, an additional 145 relief shelters are earmarked to be utilized for emergency periods.