A 57-year-old man has died after his house collapsed due to torrential rains in Tamil Nadu’s Tirunelveli district, reported The Times of India on Monday.

Floods triggered by incessant extremely heavy rains have battered the state’s southern districts, including Tirunelveli, Thoothukudi, Tenkasi and Kanyakumari.

Several areas of the districts have been submerged as water was released from the Papanasam, Perunjani and Pechuparai dams. The district collectors have been advised to ensure proper management of water in dams.

Several tanks have also breached across Tirunelveli and Tenkasi districts, resulting in farms and residential units getting flooded.

According to the Indian Meteorological Department data, Kayalpattinam in Thoothukudi received the highest rainfall of 95 cm in the 24 hours ending at 8.30 on Monday. This was followed by Tiruchendur, also in Thoothukidui, which got 69 cm of rain.

Moolaikaraipatti and Manjolai in Tirunelveli received 62 cm and 55 cm rainfall.

Following this, the weather agency issued a “heavy rain alert” in Tamil Nadu for the next seven days. A red alert, warning of heavy to extremely heavy rainfall, was issued for Madurai, Virudhunagar and Theni districts till 10 am on Monday. An orange alert, indicating extremely bad weather, has been sounded for Thoothukudi, Dindigul, Coimbatore and Thiruppur districts.

The state government has declared a public holiday for the day in the districts, shutting down all schools, colleges, private institutions, banks and financial institutions.

Tirunelveli Collector Dr KP Karthikeyan said on X, formerly known as Twitter, that health officials have been instructed to bring pregnant women due for delivery in the coming days to nearby health facilities.

“In Tirunelveli district, 696 pregnant women with due dates in the next 30 days have been contacted and advised to admit them to the hospital,” he wrote.

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Meanwhile, Chief Minister MK Stalin directed ministers and senior bureaucrats to ensure that relief centres and boats are prepared in vulnerable areas and residents are evacuated early if required, reported NDTV.

Train traffic was suspended on the Tirunelveli-Tiruchendur section between Srivaikuntam and Seydunganallur after the ballast was washed away and water was flowing over the railway tracks.

Thirteen trains have been cancelled and nine partially cancelled.

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