Wednesday, November 9 2005 14:27 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Chennai: Rains continued to lash parts of Tamil Nadu with Cuddalore district bearing the brunt for yet another day today (Nov 9, 2005) while majority of lakes and ponds in the rain-hit districts were overflowing, flooding low-lying areas as more than one lakh people were shifted to safer places.

The new low-pressure area formation over southwest Bay of Bengal continued to pose a threat of more rains especially in north coastal parts of the state, weather office said.

There was some relief for residents of Nagapattinam district, which was battered by heavy non-stop rains since Sunday, with the rains stopping today morning.

The city and suburbs experienced a few light spells of rains during the last 24 hour ending at 8.30 am today while officials continued efforts to drain out water from low-lying residential areas which were flooded in Sunday's rain.

Cuddalore District Collector Gagandeep Singh Bedi told sources when contacted from here that due to the overflowing Veeranam Lake, water had entered agricultural fields, inundating over 30,000 hectares.

More than 30,000 people had been evacuated and accommodated in 50 relief centers where they were being given food, Bedi, on a visit of the affected areas, said.

Nagapattinam Collector Dr J Radhakrishnan, when contacted, said there was rain overnight, particularly in Mayiladuthurai.

Nearly 60,000 hecatres of agricultural land were under water and more than 87,000 people evacuated and housed in 55 relief centers. Besides providing them food, medical teams were taking care of their health needs.

Minor breeches occurred in some of the lakes and ponds in the district, but efforts were on to plug them.