Despite severe flooding following the landfall of cyclone Fengal, preparations for Maaveerar Naal continue across Tamil Eelam. 

Newspapers across the Tamil homeland marked Maaveerar Naal – Great Heroes’ Day – as Tamils around the world paid tribute to those who sacrificed their lives in the liberation struggle.

Several also carried stories on the marking of LTTE leader Veluppillai Prabhakaran’s 70^th birthday yesterday.

See the front pages of various newspapers below.

Uthayan

Valampuri

^{Illustration by Keera Ratnam / @wavesofcolour}

Several schoolchildren aged between 12 and 16, went missing after a tractor was swept away by floodwaters in Karaitivu, Amparai, earlier today, with a cyclone continuing to badly impact the island.

The incident occurred as the children were returning home from a madrasa school, travelling in the vehicle along with the tractor driver and his assistant. The tractor, used for ploughing, became stuck in the mud before being carried away by the strong flood currents in a nearby valley.

Heavy rains and flooding have struck the island, as a cyclone develops in the Bay of Bengal with Tamils across the North-East preparing to mark Maaveerar Naal on Wednesday.

According to the Disaster Management Centre, over 77,670 people from 22,532 families across 15 districts have been affected by the inclement weather. One person has lost their life, and five others have been injured. Relief efforts are underway, with 2,770 individuals from 821 families currently sheltered in emergency relief centres.

The 70th birthday of Velupillai Prabhakaran, the leader of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), was marked at several locations in the North-East earlier today.

In Chavakachcheri in Jaffna, locals at several locations cut cakes and handed out sweets on local buses to celebrate Prabhakaran’s birthday.