Cuddalore district flags 239 flood‑prone spots, 22 at highest risk

239 low‑lying locations in Cuddalore district have been marked as vulnerable to flooding during the Northeast monsoon, officials said on Sunday. D. Mohan, the district monitoring chief and additional secretary of the Home, Prohibition and Excise Department, presented the list in a review meeting held at the Collectorate. Collector Sibi Adhithya Senthil Kumar chaired the session. The assessment divided the sites into four risk bands: 22 are very highly vulnerable, 39 highly vulnerable, 20 moderately vulnerable and 158 low‑vulnerability areas. Mohan ordered zonal officers to ready cyclone shelters, multipurpose centres and temporary housing with basic facilities. He also asked for sufficient stocks of essential commodities for public distribution. Officials must speak with residents about past flood impacts and shape precautionary actions. Coordination with first‑responders is required, and rescue gear, essential supplies and relief‑camp arrangements should be on standby. The directive includes keeping earthmovers, chainsaws, sandbags, casuarina poles, inflatable boats and electrical tools ready for rescue work and traffic restoration. Continuous monitoring of river inflows and other water bodies is also mandated. A joint effort across the Revenue and Disaster Management, Electricity, Fire and Rescue Services, Police, Municipal Administration, Rural Development, Fisheries, Highways and Water Resources departments was called for. Earlier, Mohan inspected the clearing of water‑hyacinth from the main channel on the Cuddalore‑Chidambaram Road and checked rain‑water drainage setups at K.N. Pettai and Navaneetham Nagar.

Context

The district’s mapping aligns with state‑wide efforts to anticipate monsoon flooding and reduce loss of life and property by pre‑positioning shelters and rescue assets.