Ahead of the northeast monsoon, the district administration held a meeting here on Wednesday and directed all department heads to be on the alert and stressed the need to work swiftly and with coordination so that there was no loss of lives.
Presiding over the meeting, Collector J. Jayakanthan said officials of Revenue, PWD and Rural Development departments had been told to monitor rainfall on a daily basis. From past experience, the departments had identified 84 locations as “low-lying" or “critical” areas.
Similarly, TANGEDCO and Fire and Rescue Services departments were also told to conduct campaigns in urban and rural pockets about the need to stay safe during rain and not to venture out. In case of emergency, the officials suggested snapping of power supply until rescue operations were over. For instance, in the event of a tree fall leading to collapse of electric poles, it would be ideal to suspend power supply until restoration work was completed.
Officials of Disaster Management Cell said public could contact 1077 and, on receipt of the call, it would be shared with the officers concerned. The emergency ambulance service in the district was also told to be on alert.
The district, which received 904 mm as annual average rainfall, had so far recorded about 400 mm rainfall. In the next 100 days, it would get the balance during the northeast monsoon. The officials also said that first respondents, who had been identified, were given training at taluk levels. The mobile numbers of the volunteers would be shared with the officers concerned at block levels.
Highways department officials were told to be prepared to face road damage and breaches from tank and carry out their operations in a smooth manner. They responded that sand bags were kept as a standby at vantage locations.
An official said that after 2005, there had been no major issues in the district during the NE monsoon as problems such as inundation were addressed over the years. The Vaigai stretch up to Tirupuvanam side would be closely monitored as any heavy discharge into the river could lead to panic among residents.
The District Supply Officials said essential commodities were stocked adequately and could be moved to any point in the district at the earliest given time. Rescue teams were told to share about the shelters and community centres with the revenue and police teams.