The weather department issued a red alert for heavy rainfall in five districts of Tamil Nadu, officials informed today. Meanwhile, schools and colleges in 22 districts were shut amid heavy rains and flooding.

"Heavy to extremely heavy rainfall" was predicted by the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) in Tirunelveli, Thoothukudi, Ramanathapuram, Pudukottai, and Nagapattinam districts of the state.

Widespread damage to crops, buildings, and roads was caused by incessant rains leading to waterlogging and flooding in several areas.

Schools, colleges, and educational institutions across 22 districts including Toothukudi, Kanniyakumari, Tirunelveli, Cuddalore, Tiruvarur, Tenkasi, and Vilupuram along with Puducherry and Karaikal, were shut down in light of the situation.

Thoothukudi city in Tamil Nadu received 25.9cm of rain till 5:30 am this morning while Karaikal in Puducherry received 11.9cm of rain.

Meanwhile, more than 50,000 hectares of crops have been damaged by heavy rain in Tamil Nadu till now which received 68 percent more than the average downpour this monsoon season.

Notably, rains have been causing havoc in the state since October with more than 2,300 homes damaged. Nearby states of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka have also experienced rains in recent weeks.

A central team is on a visit and will assess the damages as the state sought 2,600 crore relief.

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