Cyclone Ditwah Floods Tamil Nadu Delta; Seawater Inundates Over 2 Lakh Acres of Paddy
Cyclone Ditwah unleashes devastating coastal flooding and crop ruin across Cauvery delta.
Cyclone Ditwah’s ferocious three-day onslaught has forced seawater hundreds of metres inland across Tamil Nadu’s Mayiladuthurai and Nagapattinam districts, turning fishing hamlets into islands and submerging more than two lakh acres of ready-to-harvest samba and thaladi paddy in the Cauvery delta, dealing a crushing blow to thousands of farming families already battered by delayed sowing this season.
In Chandirapadi fishing village of Mayiladuthurai district, terrified residents watched helplessly past midnight on Saturday as powerful waves pushed seawater nearly 200 metres beyond the shoreline, completely surrounding around 100 homes within minutes. Seventy-year-old Anjamma described how families huddled indoors too afraid to open doors, while younger resident Sugan lamented that every monsoon brings the same nightmare of saltwater ruining appliances, furniture and stored grains, and demanded permanent coastal protection walls instead of temporary patchwork.
Further inland, entire colonies in Tharangambadi taluk remained cut off for days, with more than 100 houses in Kaliyappanallur’s Rathinam Theru and Ambedkar Nagar, and another 25 families in Koolaiyar’s Vel Nagar, trapped in chest-deep in stagnant floodwater that had no drainage outlet. Mothers with infants struggled to secure drinking water and milk, while officials rushed to clear encroachments from choked canals and carve emergency channels to release the trapped water.
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The Regional Meteorological Centre recorded unprecedented rainfall between November 29 and 30, with Mayiladuthurai district receiving an average of 117.94 mm and Nagapattinam 122.46 mm, the highest single station total of 172.40 mm falling at Sembanarkoil. Though the skies began clearing from Sunday morning, the accumulated deluge left behind a landscape of submerged fields, breached bunds and lingering salinity that could render vast tracts uncultivable for seasons to come.
Agriculture department officials confirmed catastrophic inundation of 55,789 acres in Mayiladuthurai, 81,653 acres in Nagapattinam, 49,494 acres in Tiruvarur and 12,977 acres in Thanjavur, prompting immediate deployment of assessment teams and calls for swift central assistance. As distraught farmers wade through knee-deep water surveying their ruined crops, the delta region braces for prolonged hardship and urgent rehabilitation measures.
