Ockhi unleashes rain fury in south Tamil Nadu, Kerala; 8 dead

Chennai, Dec 1: Heavy rainfalls and winds battered Kanyakumari and have killed four people on Thursday.

The Kerala State Disaster Management Authority has asked civic bodies to be ready for rescue operations.

Chief minister Edappadi K Palaniswamy, who reviewed the preparations taken up in the wake of the cyclone alert at the state secretariat, dispatched senior IAS officials and state ministers to speed up the monsoon relief works in coastal districts of Tamil Nadu.

Madhavan Rajeevan, secretary in the Earth Sciences ministry, said in New Delhi that Lakswadeep in the southern part of the Arabian Sea will start experiencing heavy rainfall and strong winds from tomorrow.

Moving towards Lakshadweep, the intensity of the cyclone will slow down after the landfall, they said.

Two National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams were deployed in the affected areas of Tamil Nadu on Thursday to carry out relief and rescue operations.

In Lashadeep, damage to power and communication lines due to the breaking of tree branches and uprooting of trees.

Several districts, including Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu and Thiruvananthapuram, Pathanamthitta and Kollam in Kerala, reported heavy rainfall and damage, including falling of trees, causing disruption of traffic.

The Courtallam falls near Tirunelveli and several salt pans in Tuticorin region were flooded. "We had issued warning since yesterday to the fishermen not to venture into the sea and sought the coastal community to be cautious", KSDMA scientists said.

IMD has issued warnings about rainfall at most places with heavy to very heavy rainfall at isolated places very likely over south Tamil Nadu & south Kerala during next 24 hours and isolated heavy falls over interior Tamil Nadu and Kerala during subsequent 24 hours.

A couple of trains, originating and passing through this district, were cancelled partially or fully and some of them were rescheduled, Southern Railway officials said.

"Rainfall will occur at most places, heavy to very heavy rainfall at a few places, and extremely heavy rainfall at isolated places very likely over Lakshadweep area during next 48 hours", the IMD said.

Mahesh Palawat, vice-president (meteorology and climate change) of Skymet, a private weather forecasting agency, said there was a possibility of flooding in the islands due to heavy rainfall.