Tamil Nadu on red alert, toll rises to 12; IMD predicts heavy rains in Chennai till 11 Nov

As many as 12 people were killed in Tamil Nadu as the state witnessed a fourth consecutive day of heavy rains and braced for more this week.The National Disaster Relief Force (NDRF) has deployed as many as 13 teams to aid in rescue and relief operations, while the state police have 75,000 personnel, including those who have been trained in rescue operations, reported the Indian Express.A 'red alert' is in place in Chennai and 19 other districts as the India Meteorological Department has predicted thunderstorms with heavy to very heavy rains in the city till Thursday.The IMD said a well-marked low-pressure area over the Bay of Bengal was likely to concentrate into a depression in the next 12 hours, moving west–northwestwards before reaching the north Tamil Nadu coast by early Thursday morning.Villupuram, Cuddalore, Mayiladuthurai, Nagapattinam, Thiruvarur, Pudukottai, Sivagangai, Ramanathapuram, Thiruvarur, and Thanjavur have been put under alert for Wednesday, as per The News Minute.In view of the advisory, the government declared holiday for schools and colleges on 10 and 11 November in Chennai, Kancheepuram, Tiruvallur, Chengelpet, Cuddalore, Nagapattinam, Thanjavur, Tiruvarur and Mayiladuthurai districts.Chennai was pounded by rains over the weekend - the heaviest since the 2015 floods - leading to widespread flooding in the city and its suburbs of Chengalpattu, Kancheepuram and Tiruvallur.Videos that emerged on social medial showed cars and two-wheelers partially submerged and people wading through knee-deep water in some places to buy essential commodities.Yesterday, the Madras High Court pulled up the Greater Chennai Corporation for flooding in the city due to heavy rain and said that it would start suo motu proceedings if the situation did not improve soon."What have you been doing since 2015 floods?" Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice PD Audikesavalu asked the Chennai civic body, adding "It is a pity that half the year we long for water and rest of the year we are flooded or die in water."The floods in Chennai in 2015 were the worst the city had experienced in a century. The floods had killed 289 people, submerged 23.25 lakh homes, disrupted power and telecommunication services and caused extensive damage to public and private property.