At least 12 people died on Friday in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh after heavy rain hit the states, and the Union Territory of Puducherry.
In Andhra Pradesh’s Kadap district, three people died and 30 were reported missing following a flash flood, India Today reported. Several villages were waterlogged after a breach in the dam caused the Cheyyeru river to overflow.
In Tamil Nadu’s Vellore district, nine persons, including four children, died after a building wall collapsed due to heavy rain in Pernambut town, The Times of India reported. Nine others were injured and were taken to a government hospital.
Fire and rescue personnel recovered the bodies and admitted the injured persons to the hospital.
The rains, caused by a depression over the Bay of Bengal, prompted officials in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry to issue flood alerts as surplus water was released from reservoirs, according to The Times of India.
Many bridges in the northern districts of Tamil Nadu were submerged because of the heavy rain.
The India Meterological Department on Friday said that the depression over north Tamil Nadu moved west-northwestwards and had weakened into a well marked low pressure area. “It will continue move west-northwestwards and weaken further gradually,” the weather agency said in a tweet.
On Thursday, Kundanam in Tiruppur district received the state’s highest rainfall of 20 centimetres, according to The Hindu.
The temple town of Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh was flooded and pilgrims were stranded following heavy rain on Thursday, The News Minute reported. Videos from the town showed people trying to wade though fast-moving floodwater on roads.
The heavy rain in Tirupati triggered landslides because of which the authorities closed roads to the Sri Venkateswara Temple, The News Minute reported. Flights had to be diverted because the airport was flooded.
A building in Bengaluru’s Ulsoor area collapsed on Friday following incessant rain from the previous day, Deccan Herald reported. All four residents of the building were safely rescued. The residents of the building expressed shock as they had not noted any signs of an impending collapse.
The Indian Meteorological Department withdrew a red alert for Chennai and the surrounding districts late on Thursday night as there were slim chances of extremely heavy rain, The Hindu reported. However, it issued an orange alert, signifying heavy to very heavy rain for the region.
The weather system may cause heavy to very heavy rain on Friday in districts in the interior regions of Tamil Nadu, including Tiruvannamalai, Salem and Krishnagiri.
Meanwhile, a seven-member team will visit Tamil Nadu in a couple of days to assess the situation in the rain-affected areas, IANS reported. The team will be headed by Rajiv Shukla, Joint Secretary and Financial Advisor National Intelligence Grid in the Union home ministry.
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