Officials have been instructed to keep a close watch of 153 places identified as vulnerable for flooding during monsoon and prevent inundation.
Reviewing the state of preparedness to face north-east monsoon here on Saturday, secretary of Social Welfare and Nutritious Meal Programme and Virudhunagar district monitoring officer S. Madhumathi said 144 spots were identified with past experience. “Now another nine spots have been identified as vulnerable for flooding. Besides these spots, the officials should keep a tab on other areas that are found to be vulnerable during inspection,” she said.
She asked the officials to evict encroachments from flood-prone areas and low-lying areas to prevent marooning and they should be ready to drain the floodwaters immediately.
All the buildings that were more than 20 years old should be inspected and required repairs should be carried out. The officials should be prepared to repair the damage caused during flood.
Ms. Madhumathi advised the officials to keep adequate stock of food grains and all waterbodies should be kept under close watch. Trees that pose danger to electric poles should be trimmed before the monsoon. Similarly, roads and supply channels should be repaired.
The district administration should keep ready all required equipment and machinery to attend to emergency situations to maintain vehicular traffic
Apart from keeping adequate stock of medicine, drinking water should be adequately chlorinated to prevent water-borne diseases. People should be advised to consume boiled and filtered water.
All supply channels should be repaired to ensure that rainwater did not get stored in the tanks.
Ms. Madhumathi also witnessed a mock drill carried out by Fire and Rescue Services personnel to show their state of preparedness.
Collector R. Kannan, Superintendent of Police P. Perumal, District Revenue Officer R. Mangalaramasubramanian, Sivakasi Sub-Collector C. Dinesh Kumar and Project Director of District Rural Development Agency Jayakumar were present.