At least 17 persons, including 10 women and two children, were killed when a wall collapsed on four houses due to heavy downpour in Tamil Nadu's Coimbatore on Monday, police said. The incident was reported from Mettupalayam area of Coimbatore. There were 12 persons in the houses when a private compound wall, totally wet due to heavy rains, fell on them, police said. Rescue personnel have retrieved nine bodies, police said.
Further details are awaited.
Schools and colleges in 8 districts of the state have declared a holiday today in view of heavy rains.
Rains lashed many parts of Tamil Nadu and neighbouring Puducherry with the North-East monsoon in the last 24 hours claiming one life in the state capital. Various parts of the state have been receiving good rainfall since the onset of the monsoon on October 16.
Director of area cyclone-warning Centre, Regional Meteorological Centre, N Puviarasan told reporters that the presence of upper air circulation caused heavy to very heavy rains.
Residents have been moved to safe ground as houses were marooned, officials said.
Vehicular traffic in Tiruchendur and Tuticorin was affected.
Kovai Express and Pearl City Express were stopped at Melur as the tracks got submerged. State minister Vijayabaskar visited the flood-affected
areas in Pudukottai district and was overseeing relief operation.
The rain over the last two days in Tirunelveli, Tenkasi, Kanyakumari and Tuticorin resulted in most dams getting filled up, the officials said.
The North-East monsoon accounts for about 48 per cent of the annual rainfall in the state.
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