One dead in wall collapse, more rain in TN over next two days

Chennai, Nov 30: A 70-year-old man died when a portion of a wall of his house collapsed in Thanjavur district on Saturday, as the weather office here has predicted more rain over the next two days across Tamil Nadu with the North East monsoon picking up pace after a lull.

Duraikannu of Melattur village died after a part of the wall caved in due to heavy rain early this morning, police said. Regional Meteorological Centre, Area Cyclone Warning Centre director N Puviarasan said rainfall is likely to occur across Tamil Nadu and Puducherry during the next 24-48 hours due to presence of "upper air circulation."

"Very heavy rainfall is predicted in districts like Nilgiris, Coimbatore and Tiruppur...," he told reporters. In the last 24 hours ending at 8.30 am on Saturday, five districts in Tamil Nadu witnessed very heavy rainfall while eight districts recorded heavy rainfall, he said Thalaigyayiru in Nagapattinam district recorded rainfall of 16 cm followed by Pudukottai 14 cm.

Puviarasan advised fishermen not to venture into the sea across Cape Comorin and Maldives as wind speeds are expected to reach 40-50 km per hour in the next 24-48 hours. For Chennai and its neighbourhood, he said there may be moderate to heavy rain at one or two places over the next two days.

The north east monsoon, which accounts for about 48 per cent of Tamil Nadu's annual rainfall, set in across South India on October 16. Various parts of the state have been receiving good rains following the onset of the northeast monsoon.