The Tamil Nadu government on Friday said three people died in rain-related incidents, PTI reported. The All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam-led government said 7,167 acres of standing crops were submerged and 5,595 people were relocated to relief centres.

Revenue Minister RB Udhaya Kumar said the deceased were two men and a woman. “186 villages are affected, 954 huts are fully damaged, 1,029 huts partially damaged and 7,167 acres of standing crops are submerged,” Kumar told reporters.

The flood victims are in relief camps in Erode, Thanjavur, Tiruchirappalli, Nagapattinam and Cuddalore districts.

Tamil Nadu officials ordered the release of water from the state’s dams, including the Mettur dam, following heavy inflows from the Karnataka dams. The release led to flooding in districts along the banks of the Cauvery and Bhavani rivers, including Tiruchirappalli, Erode and Namakkal.

On August 19, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi Palaniswami had inspected the districts affected by flooding and vowed to release a compensation package for those whose crops and houses were damaged.

Kerala flood allegations

Earlier on Friday, Palaniswami rejected Kerala’s claims that the release of excess water from the Mullaperiyar dam caused floods in the state as “false and baseless”, reported ANI. Adding that the water was released in a phased manner, Palaniswami said that the floods were caused by the excess discharge of water from 80 dams. On Thursday, the Kerala government told the Supreme Court that the Tamil Nadu government’s decision to suddenly release water from the Mullaperiyar dam was one of the reasons for the devastating floods in Kerala.