Tamil Nadu rain: Schools shut in five districts as overnight downpour lashes State

Schools in five districts of Tamil Nadu will remain closed on Thursday (October 22) after overnight rain lashed several parts of the State, district administrations announced.

The holiday covers schools in Tirunelveli, Tenkasi, Thoothukudi, Kanniyakumari and Tirupattur districts. Tirunelveli District Collector Anand Mohan and Tenkasi District Collector Ranjeet Singh issued orders for their respective districts following the overnight rain. Thoothukudi District Collector Vishu Mahajan and Kanniyakumari District Collector M. Prathap announced holidays in view of the widespread rainfall. A holiday was also declared for schools in Tirupattur district.

According to data from the Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC), several districts received moderate to heavy rainfall until 6 a.m. on Thursday. Mamallapuram recorded the highest rainfall at 9 cm, followed by Tenkasi and Sattankulam in Thoothukudi district, which received 6 cm each. Tirunelveli, Mayiladuthurai and Tiruvarur recorded 5 cm each.

Rainfall was also reported in several other districts, including Coimbatore, Nagapattinam, Salem, Ranipet and Kanniyakumari.

For readers unfamiliar with how rainfall is classified, the India Meteorological Department treats 24-hour rainfall of between 6.5 cm and 11.5 cm as “heavy”, and between 11.6 cm and 20.4 cm as “very heavy”. The 9 cm recorded at Mamallapuram, and the 6 cm recorded at Tenkasi and Sattankulam, therefore represent substantial spells over a single night.

The RMC has forecast light to moderate rainfall in Cuddalore, Dharmapuri, Kanniyakumari, Tirunelveli, Tirupattur, Tiruvannamalai and Viluppuram districts until 10 a.m. on Thursday.

Declaring a holiday for schools during spells of heavy rain is a routine practice in Tamil Nadu, where district Collectors take such decisions when weather conditions are likely to make travel to school risky, or when roads and low-lying areas are inundated. The orders issued on Thursday cited the overnight rain as the reason for the closure.

The rainfall comes at the start of the northeast monsoon season, which normally runs from October to December and accounts for the bulk of Tamil Nadu’s annual precipitation. Winds from the northeast during this window bring rain to the State’s coastal and southern districts, and the season is closely watched by farmers, particularly in the Cauvery delta and the southern districts, where the rain supports the principal paddy crops.

The RMC issues updated bulletins through the day, and districts usually review conditions as fresh data becomes available. Parents and students in the affected districts would do well to confirm the status of their institutions with school authorities before setting out, as holiday orders in the past have sometimes applied to specific categories of schools.

Thursday’s closures affect Tirunelveli, Tenkasi, Thoothukudi, Kanniyakumari and Tirupattur, while the RMC’s morning forecast extends to Cuddalore, Dharmapuri, Tiruvannamalai and Viluppuram as well. No damage or casualty reports were contained in the announcements.