Rahul Gandhi appeals Congress cadre to assist in Tamil Nadu rain relief operations

Taking to social media platform X, the senior Congress leader appealed to party cadre to collaborate seamlessly with local administrative authorities, emphasising that special care must be extended to senior citizens and vulnerable groups.

"My thoughts are with everyone affected by the heavy rains in Tamil Nadu. I appeal to Congress leaders and workers to reach out to families in the affected areas and help with relief. Please work closely with the local authorities, and give special attention to the elderly and the most vulnerable," Rahul Gandhi posted.

Reaffirming his support to the state's citizens, he added, "To my sisters and brothers in Tamil Nadu: we stand with you. Please stay safe."

Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Vijay conducted an inspection at the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) control room situated in Chennai's Chepauk area.

Explaining the meteorological factors behind the sudden deluge that battered Chennai and adjoining coastal districts, Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) Commissioner Dr GS Sameeran stated that the unusually intense precipitation is linked to broader global climatic patterns.

"The monsoon has already commenced... This is a super El Nio year, where the Pacific Ocean has warmed more than 3 degrees Celsius... We experienced very torrential rain on the midnight of 17th October... This led to heavy flooding," Dr Sameeran said while addressing reporters.

Clarifying that the sudden extreme weather was not classified as a localised extreme weather event by official weather tracking agencies, the GCC Commissioner added, "The IMD has said that it was not a cloudburst, but we received a huge amount of rain..."

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)