Nonagenarian dies in roof collapse due to heavy rain in Arakkonam

Excess rainwater being discharged from Mordhana, a tributary of Palar

A 90-year-old woman died after her tiled roofed house collapsed due to continuous rain in Arakkonam, near Ranipet, in the early hours on Wednesday.

The police said S. Alamelu lived with her second son S. Manogaran, a retired Deputy Superintendent of Police, in a dilapidated house on Mettu Street in Gururajapettai for nearly two decades. After dinner, she went to sleep in one of the rooms while her son slept in another room in the front of the house.

Around 1.30 a.m on Wednesday, the tiled roof collapsed due to the continuous rain. Wooden logs on the roof fell on the woman, who died on the spot. Neighbours and relatives informed the Fire and Rescue Services and the police. After an hour, the body was retrieved and shifted to a government hospital. A case has been filed by the Arakkonam taluk police.

In another incident, a row of five electrical poles on Katpadi Main Road in Gudiyatham was damaged after a tree fell on them due to heavy rain. Traffic was affected for more than an hour as the stretch is a key route for vehicles, including government buses and lorries, from neighbouring Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka to reach Tamil Nadu.

Heavy rain in the neighbouring Chittoor district, especially at the Kaundinya Wildlife Sanctuary, since early this month has filled up the reservoir across Mordhana river, a tributary of the Palar, with excess rainwater being discharged.

Residents in Mordhana, Kottaramuduvu, Jittapalli, Seivur, Gudiyatham town, Indira Nagar, Oolakasi, Sittathur and Hyderpuram villages in Gudiyatham taluk have been asked to be careful due to continuous rain, especially during the night.

Among four districts, key towns in Tirupattur like Natrampalli (11.20 mm) and TCS Mill (7 mm) received good rainfall, with a total recorded rainfall of 18.20 mm as of 6 a.m. on Wednesday.