A mother and daughter were killed this morning when the wall of a neighbouring house collapsed onto their hut amid heavy overnight rain in Tamil Nadu's Cuddalore district. These are the first rain-related fatalities reported in the state as the season's northeast monsoon intensifies.
The victims have been identified as Yasodha and her daughter Jaya, residents of Kamarajar Street in Andarmullipallam, near Chidambaram. Police said the two had just finished breakfast and were inside their thatched house when the wall of a tiled-roof structure next door gave way and crashed onto their hut.
Hearing the loud noise, neighbours rushed to the spot and tried to rescue the two women, but they were already dead. "We are investigating," a senior police officer told NDTV, confirming the deaths.
Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare Minister MRK Panneerselvam visited the town, consoled the grieving family, and oversaw the arrangements to send the bodies for autopsy.
Cuddalore district received up to 174 mm of rainfall in 21 hours till 5:30 am today, inundating low-lying areas.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) had forecast extremely heavy rainfall for Cuddalore and the neighbouring districts of Villupuram, Mayiladuthurai, and Chengalpattu, as well as the Union Territory of Puducherry.
The IMD has now said that the well-marked low-pressure area is unlikely to intensify into a depression as expected earlier, offering temporary respite even as heavy rains continue across coastal Tamil Nadu.
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