Tamil Nadu Flood Crisis: Torrential Rains Claim Two Lives in Cuddalore as Depression Intensifies
Two women killed as Cuddalore reels under heavy rainfall.
Tamil Nadu is on high alert as a looming cyclone threatens to unleash chaos across its northern coast, with two women already dead in Cuddalore due to a building collapse triggered by torrential rains. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has warned that a well-marked low-pressure area over the Bay of Bengal is likely to intensify into a depression by Wednesday afternoon, potentially escalating into a cyclone. The system is expected to cross the coasts of north Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Karaikal, and south Andhra Pradesh within the next 24 hours, bringing heavy to extremely heavy rainfall.
Red alerts have been issued for Villupuram, Cuddalore, Mayiladuthurai, Nagapattinam, Tiruvallur, Thanjavur, Pudukkottai, and Ramanathapuram districts, signaling rainfall exceeding 20 cm in 24 hours. Chennai, along with Chengalpattu, Kancheepuram, Ranipet, and Tiruvannamalai, faces an orange alert for very heavy rainfall (11-20 cm). In Andhra Pradesh, red alerts cover Nellore, Prakasam, Tirupati, Annamayya, Chittoor, and Kadapa, with orange alerts for Kurnool, Nandyal, Anantapur, and Sri Satyasai. Cuddalore recorded the highest rainfall at 174 mm in 21 hours until 5:30 am Tuesday, followed by Puducherry (147 mm) and Chennai’s Nungambakkam (86.4 mm).
The relentless downpour has already disrupted life across the region. Schools and colleges are closed in 13 Tamil Nadu districts and Puducherry, with Chennai, Salem, Namakkal, and Pudukkottai limiting closures to schools. Flooding has inundated homes in low-lying areas of Tuticorin and Tiruvarur, while vast paddy fields in Tiruvarur and Nagapattinam lie submerged, threatening agricultural losses. Chennai’s Marina Beach is battered by strong winds, signaling the intensifying northeast monsoon.
Chief Minister MK Stalin has mobilized 12 senior officers to oversee red-alert districts, directing them to prepare relief camps, evacuate vulnerable areas, and expedite paddy procurement for safe storage. Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin assessed on-ground readiness, while Chengalpattu Collector D Sneha confirmed completed pre-monsoon desilting, operational water pumps, and ready relief centers. Over 51,000 lampposts, 1,849 transformers, JCBs, boats, and tree cutters are deployed across delta and northern districts, with NDRF teams on standby for rescues. The Greater Chennai Corporation is testing its newly expanded stormwater drain network, critical to mitigating the city’s chronic flooding woes.
In Andhra Pradesh, Home Minister Vangalapudi Anitha urged residents to stay indoors unless essential, with state and central disaster response teams, police, and firefighters on high alert. Revenue Minister A Satya Prasad emphasized evacuations from low-lying areas and warned fishermen against venturing into turbulent seas.
As Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh brace for worsening conditions, the region faces a critical test of preparedness. With lives already lost and livelihoods at stake, authorities are racing against time to avert a full-scale disaster.
