Chennai, Nov 30 (IANS) A 20-year-old woman died after a wall collapsed on her house near Kumbakonam in Tamil Nadu on Sunday, even as heavy rain continued to lash parts of the state under the impact of Cyclone Ditwah.

The victim, Renuka, was the daughter of Muthuveil, a resident of Alamankurichi near Kumbakonam in Thanjavur district.

According to officials, a portion of the wall of Muthuveil’s motor shed collapsed due to incessant rainfall and crashed onto the roof of their adjacent house.

Renuka died on the spot. Muthuveil, his wife Seetha and their younger daughter Kanimozhi sustained injuries and were admitted to a nearby hospital.

Local authorities have initiated relief measures and are assessing structural safety in the rain-affected neighbourhood.

Meanwhile, the Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC), Chennai, said Cyclone Ditwah, formed over the southwest Bay of Bengal, has started weakening and is expected to downgrade into a deep depression by around 5.30 p.m. on Sunday.

The system is not likely to make landfall along the Tamil Nadu coast, the RMC clarified.

According to the latest bulletin, the cyclone is currently located 220 km from Chennai, 130 km from Puducherry, and 120 km from Vedaranyam, moving at a speed of 7 kmph towards the north-northwest.

Even with the weakening trend, the weather office has warned that gale-force winds may blow up to 30 km offshore from the north Tamil Nadu and Puducherry coasts on Sunday evening.

Extremely heavy rainfall remains a concern for several districts. The highest rainfall in the past 24 hours was recorded at Kodiakkarai (250 mm), indicating the intensity of the system’s rain bands over the delta and northern coastal regions.

Given the forecast, a red alert has been issued for Tiruvallur and Ranipet districts, where very heavy to extremely heavy rainfall is expected through the day.

Several other districts may witness heavy spells of rain at isolated locations.

Officials urged residents in vulnerable areas to remain indoors, avoid water-logged zones and follow instructions from district administrations.

Disaster response teams have been kept on standby in coastal districts to handle any emergency arising from intense rainfall or localised flooding. With the cyclone weakening but still close to the coast, the RMC advised continued caution until the system fully loses strength over the sea.

–IANS

aal/svn