At least 100 people were feared drowned today as major parts of Tamil Nadu faced the fury of unprecedented rains which cut off southern districts from the state capital while Kollidam and other rivers were in spate.
With the reported death of 100 people today in two different incidents of buses being washed away by flash floods in Ramanathapuram and Thanjavur districts, the toll in the north-east monsoon in the last three weeks alone rose to 200.
Though the rains abated in some districts, including the metropolis, road and rail traffic continued to be severely disrupted due to breaches while armed forces were called in to assist the administration in rescuing lakhs of marooned people.
The low-pressure area in the Bay of Bengal moved to the Arabian Sea, but the Met office forecast rains till Sunday.
Standing crops in several Cauvery delta districts were also submerged in the floods while almost all major river and lake bunds breached.
Officials said 3.35 lakh cusecs of water was being let into Kollidam, the highest in the last six decades, as the river cut off temple town of Srirangam, flooding many areas in Tiruchirappalli district.
The huge Veeranam lake in Cuddalore District surplussed, inundating many areas in the district. The temple town of Chidambaram in the district is also cut off due to floods.
Over 500 long-distance buses from Chennai to the Southern districts did not ply today. Train services to these districts were also cancelled as rainwaters breached the tracks. Railways said it would take two days to restore rail traffic.
Armed forces helicopters dropped food packets to marooned people while Coast Guard boats were used to rescue the affected.