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Schools in Thoothukudi district of Tamil Nadu will remain closed on Thursday due to heavy rainfall, as the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast heavy to very heavy downpours across parts of the state over the coming days.
In Thoothukudi, continuous rainfall has affected urban and suburban areas, prompting the district administration to announce a holiday for schools. District Collector Vishu Mahajan announced the closure in view of the heavy rain. Meanwhile, mechanised boat fishermen in Thoothukudi have been advised not to venture into the sea for fishing due to continuous and heavy rainfall. In the neighbouring Union Territory of Puducherry, all government, government-aided and private schools in Puducherry and Karaikal have been declared closed on Thursday in view of the heavy rain warning, Education Minister A Namachivayam said. The IMD said the low-pressure area over the southwest Bay of Bengal off the Tamil Nadu coast is likely to bring isolated heavy to very heavy rainfall over Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Karaikal and Kerala between October 21 and 25. For Thursday, the weather department forecast heavy to very heavy rainfall at isolated places, accompanied by thunderstorms, lightning and gusty winds reaching speeds of 40-50 kmph at one or two locations. Heavy rainfall that began on Tuesday continued overnight, with Chennai's MGR Nagar recording the highest rainfall at 15 cm. Several neighbourhoods in and around the state capital received between 10 cm and 15 cm of rain. The IMD has issued a yellow alert for Chennai. According to the IMD, districts likely to receive heavy to very heavy rainfall include Thoothukudi, Tirunelveli, Kanniyakumari, Tenkasi, Virudhunagar, Ramanathapuram, Theni, Dindigul, Madurai, Coimbatore, the Nilgiris, Sivaganga, Pudukkottai, Thanjavur, Tiruvarur, Nagapattinam and Mayiladuthurai, along with Karaikal in Puducherry. The weather department has also forecast widespread rainfall on October 23, with heavy to very heavy rain likely at isolated places in Kanniyakumari, the Nilgiris and Coimbatore districts. Heavy to very heavy rain at isolated places with thunderstorm and lightning, with gusty wind speeds reaching 40-50 kmph at one or two places, is likely to occur over Kanniyakumari, the Nilgiris and Coimbatore, the IMD bulletin stated. (ANI)
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