Tamil Nadu Rains: 2 Killed, 18 Injured in Lightning in Madurai; More Downpour Likely for Next 3 Days

At least two people were killed, while 18 others sustained injuries in a lighting incident in Tamil Nadu’s Madurai district on Friday. As the state witnessed torrential rains, several roads were waterlogged leading to intense traffic jams. According to the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), the state is expected to witness more rainfall till November 6.

“Six people have been admitted to Madurai government hospital. The rest have been admitted to Sivagangai government hospital,” Madurai SP R Shiva Prasad told the media while confirming the death toll in the lightning incident in the district.

Additional Director General of Meteorology S Balachandran was quoted as saying by news agency PTI, “Heavy rain is likely to occur in the next 24 hours at certain places in Kanyakumari, Tirunelveli, Tenkasi, Theni, and Dindigul districts. Heavy rain is also likely in certain places in Nilgiris, Coimbatore, Erode, Virudhunagar, Madurai, Sivaganga, Pudukottai, Tiruppur, and Ramanathapuram districts.”

The continuous downpour throughout the day on Friday caught office-goers and students unaware. Some areas in Chennai were waterlogged for over an hour and a half during peak-hour traffic.

Speaking to reporters, Balachandran said Chidambaram recorded a maximum of 8 cm of rainfall during the last 24 hours. Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, and Karaikal would receive light to moderate rain in the next three days. From October 1 till date, the region recorded 12 cm of rainfall during the ongoing Northeast Monsoon against the normal rainfall of 19 cm, which is 40 per cent less than normal, he added.

Many took to X (formerly Twitter) and shared videos of waterlogged roads. The visuals on social media show knee-deep water and waterlogging at several places in Kanyakumari, Tirunelveli, Tenkasi, Theni, and Dindigul districts.

These showers have also badly inundated the five Furlong Road in Chennai which connects Velachery with the Guindy Railway station.

The continuous precipatation caught office-goers and students unawares. Parts of south Chennai were immersed due to the continuous rain for over an hour-and-a-half during peak hour traffic.

Earlier, the IMD stated that due to a cyclonic circulation over Sri Lanka, states in South India may receive heavy rainfall.

WEATHER UPDATES 

• A moderate rainfall is likely over Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana till November 10 said IMD.
• The IMD has also issued an ‘orange’ alert for Kerala’s Idukki, Kozhikode and Wayanad districts, indicating very heavy rainfall, while yellow alert is notified for other districts except Kasaragod.
• Under the influence of a western disturbance, a light rainfall along with snowfall is expected over Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand till November 9.

(with inputs from PTI)