Chennai, Oct 23:
Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay on Thursday inspected the State Emergency Operations Centre at Ezhilagam and reviewed precautionary measures being taken across Tamil Nadu ahead of the northeast monsoon.
Vijay held discussions with officials of the Revenue and Disaster Management Department and District Collectors in districts warned of very heavy rainfall by the India Meteorological Department (IMD). He directed officials to strengthen interdepartmental coordination, respond swiftly to emergencies and take all necessary steps to prevent loss of life due to heavy rain and flooding.
The IMD had issued very heavy rainfall warnings for 16 districts, including the Nilgiris, Coimbatore, Dindigul, Theni, Madurai, Virudhunagar, Tenkasi, Kanniyakumari, Tirunelveli, Thoothukudi, Sivaganga, Pudukkottai, Tiruvarur, Thanjavur, Nagapattinam and Mayiladuthurai.
The Chief Minister also inspected the Integrated Multi-Hazard Monitoring Dashboard at the centre. The system enables real-time monitoring of rainfall and forecasts, public complaints, major reservoir water levels and weather radar images to track cloud movements and facilitate timely warnings and rescue operations.
Revenue and Disaster Management Minister K.A. Sengottaiyan, Chief Secretary M. Sai Kumar and senior departmental officials attended the review meeting.