At least 14 people have died in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu during days of heavy rains, officials said Thursday. Several districts in the state are on high alert, bracing for more torrents as a depression over the southwest Bay of Bengal was set to cross northern Tamil Nadu on Thursday evening. The Indian Meteorological Department warned of intense rains in isolated places. Read:9 Hindu devotees die in India road crash The heavy rains first struck over the weekend, hitting the capital, Chennai. Photos and videos from the city showed residents wading through knee-deep waters and vehicles nearly submerged in the heavily flooded roads. Two people died in the last 24 hours, said N Subbaiyan, the director of the state’s disaster management, adding that the other 12 were killed over the past few days. At least 800 huts have been destroyed this past week by the rains, said Kumar Jayant of the state's revenue department. Multiple teams of the National Disaster Response Force have been deployed to help local authorities with rescue efforts. In Chennai, which is among the worst hit, officials have evacuated hundreds of people from vulnerable areas. Authorities have also set up over 100 relief centers and distributed free food, local media reported. Flights into Chennai have been suspended. The rains this week are among the heaviest to hit the city since 2015. Experts have warned that more heavy rains can trigger further flooding and devastation. Read: 10 dead in India Covid hospital fire “The public should not go out,” Greater Chennai Commissioner Gagandeep Singh Bedi told New Delhi Television on Wednesday. He said authorities had managed to drain the majority of the floodwaters, but cautioned that low-lying areas could once again get inundated. Rains at this time in Tamil Nadu are not unusual, but experts have warned that climate change has exacerbated the problem, making the downpours more intense and frequent. Last month, flooding and landslides caused by heavy rains killed at least 28 people in neighboring Kerala state.

Officials predicted more rain as the death toll from floods and landslides in the southern Indian state of Kerala rose to 28 on Monday. Since the ferocious downpours began last week, swollen rivers have decimated bridges, and vehicles and homes have been swept away. Several dams were nearing full capacity. K.J. Ramesh, one of India’s top meteorologists and the former chief of the weather agency, said the increased rainfall was linked to climate change and warmer oceans. “This is definitely a sign of things to come,” he said. Also read: 21 dead in India floods & landslides At least 23 people died in Kottayam and Idukki districts, among the worst hit. More than 9,000 people have taken shelter in over 200 camps across the state, officials said. The heavy rainfall resulted from a low-pressure area that formed over the southeastern Arabian sea and Kerala. It was expected to ease Monday, but the Meteorological Department warned that new rain-bearing winds would hit the region starting Wednesday, bringing more precipitation. Heavy rainfall is also predicted across several northern and eastern Indian states. Also read: Heavy rains, landslides leave 18 dead in south India The National Disaster Response Force and the Indian army deployed teams in Kerala to help rescue efforts. “I pray for everyone’s safety and well-being,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Twitter.

At least eight people were killed and nearly 1,000 suffered breathing difficulties and other reactions as chemical gas leaked from an industrial plant in southern India early Thursday.