Heavy rains and mudslide kill bus driver in Tamil Nadu as IMD warns of more storms

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) announced that the northeast monsoon will bring heavy to very heavy rainfall to large parts of Tamil Nadu for the next three days, with cyclone warning signals hoisted at nine ports including Chennai and Nagapattinam. On Saturday, torrential rain triggered multiple mudslides in the Nilgiris, burying a government bus and killing its driver Janagaraj; the conductor Kesavan was rescued and more than 100 schoolchildren from Kerala avoided death after their vehicles stopped behind the bus.

Mudslides blocked the Ooty-Mettupalayam and Ooty-Coonoor highways and forced the closure of tourist spots, mountain train services, and vulnerable ghat routes, while schools were shut. In Krishnagiri, a flash-flood washed away a village-built temporary causeway, leaving over 100 families without road access. Officials, including Backward Classes Welfare Minister V Sampath Kumar, coordinated evacuations and provided food and shelter to stranded travelers. Temperatures are expected to stay near normal, with light rain elsewhere.