At least 31 killed in floods in India’s Tamil Nadu
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A volunteer offering food to a resident after his house got partially submerged following heavy rain due to Cyclone Michaung, in Chennai, India, on Dec 6, 2023.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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CHENNAI - At least 31 people were killed in floods and heavy rain in India’s southern state of Tamil Nadu this week, a top federal minister said on Dec 22, as rescuers struggled to reach scores still stranded in high waters.
Heavy rain has paralysed several districts of the state, inundating entire neighbourhoods, roads and railway tracks, days after a cyclone hit India’s south-eastern coast, causing widespread damage.
“The (toll) number could change,” federal Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman told reporters, adding that more than 40,000 people have been rescued so far and efforts are under way to reach those still stranded.
The state is one of the major electronics and manufacturing hubs in India. Some southern neighbourhoods remained waterlogged on Dec 22.
“We’re struggling to get tractors and boats with food and essentials through water in the worst-affected areas,” said volunteer M. Balamurugan, who, along with other volunteers, has been distributing food and essentials.
Tamil Nadu recorded over 64mm of rainfall this week, more than triple the 20mm that would be normal at this time of year, the weather department said, predicting more rainfall in parts of the state over the next five days.
For some, the floods are reminiscent of rain eight years ago in state capital Chennai that killed 290 people and inundated large swathes of the city. REUTERS
