After a heavy downpour the previous day, numerous low-lying areas in Sellur and nearby regions of Madurai district, Tamil Nadu, experienced waterlogging on Saturday. The relentless rainfall led to significant flooding, disrupting daily activities.
Madurai district recorded an unprecedented rainfall of 9.8 cm, bringing everyday life to a standstill. The rain began in the afternoon and intensified dramatically over several hours, continuing well into Friday night. Officials reported that 4.5 cm of rain fell within just 15 minutes starting at 3 pm.
Madurai Commissioner Dinesh Kumar stated, “We’ve had continuous rainfall in the city for the past 25 days in October. The average rainfall normally is 200 millimeters, but since yesterday, we’ve recorded 260 millimeters. The intense rain over a short period caused a large volume of water to flow into the city. We are closely monitoring the situation and are providing food, drinking water, and other medical assistance to those affected. Currently, there are nine inundated locations.”
Major thoroughfares, including New Natham Road and TPK Road, were flooded, as were neighborhoods like KK Nagar, Anna Nagar, Sellur, and Goripalayam.
In response to the severe rainfall, Madurai District Collector Sangeetha announced a holiday for schools in the Madurai East and Madurai North revenue divisions on Saturday.
Tamil Nadu is currently experiencing heavy northeast monsoon rains, which have caused widespread damage in both Chennai and Madurai. Last week, Chennai also faced significant waterlogging and flooding following an uninterrupted hour of rainfall.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued warnings for cyclone DANA in Odisha and West Bengal. Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi reported on Friday that the state was “safe,” and no casualties had occurred, thanks to proactive measures taken ahead of the cyclone.
Earlier, the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) initiated an awareness campaign in Odisha’s Mahakalpada and Kendrapara districts to inform residents about cyclone DANA. NDRF teams conducted door-to-door outreach using loudspeakers to raise awareness about the impending storm.