City safety guide

Thoothukudi Fire and Emergency Safety Guide

Thoothukudi is a port and industrial town where the sea, the SIPCOT estate and the old town sit close together, and a night of northeast monsoon rain can swamp it. This guide puts the emergency numbers, the district fire stations and the main local risks on one page, with past incidents from Thoothukudi.

Checked 20 Oct 2026 against official sources. Incidents update automatically. Emergency card for the fridge or your phone

1incidents covered

78deaths reported

88injured reported

112Emergency 101Fire 108Ambulance 100Police

0461-2310107 District Fire Officer officeListed by the district administration; in an emergency still call 101 1077 District Disaster HelplineToll free. The Collectorate disaster section is on 0461-2340101 0461-2321051 Government Medical College HospitalFrom the district contact directory

112: One emergency number for police, fire and ambulance across India · 108: The district helpline list shows 108 as accident help line and 102 as ambulance · 100: Also reachable through 112

Printable Thoothukudi emergency card: A4 sheet with national and local emergency numbers and cut-out wallet cards

Take these numbers with you

Print the Thoothukudi emergency card for the fridge or the front door, and cut out the wallet cards. It holds 112, 101, the ambulance and police numbers, and the Thoothukudi fire, disaster and civic numbers from this guide. There are blank lines for your family contacts and the nearest hospital.

Download city emergency card (PDF, 0.9 MB, opens in a new tab) Save as phone picture (WebP, 76 KB, made for a phone lock screen)

Checked 20 October 2026. Numbers can change; re-check them before you rely on them.

Latest incidents in Thoothukudi

Lakshmi Touring Talkies fire: how a temporary cinema became a mass-casualty trap29 Jul 1979 · 78 dead · 88 injured

Open the full Incident Map

Local risks in Thoothukudi

Thatched and temporary venues

On 29 July 1979, fire swept through the thatch-and-timber Lakshmi Touring Talkies at Lourdammalpuram during a matinee, and archival reports record 78 deaths, 32 of them children. Look for two clear exits before you sit down in any tent, pandal or temporary hall.

Monsoon cloudbursts and floods

In the 24 hours to the morning of 18 December 2023, Kayalpattinam in Thoothukudi district recorded 95 cm of rain, according to IMD figures reported by South First. Days later, an NDRF team with SIPCOT police was still using boats to bring women and children out of the SIPCOT industrial area.

Fire cover across a wide district

The state fire service lists 11 stations for the whole district, three of them (Thoothukudi, Thermal and SIPCOT) around the port and industrial belt. Know which station covers your area, and call 101 first.

Fire stations in Thoothukudi

10 stations, as published by Tamil Nadu Fire and Rescue Services Department. Tap Call to ring the station office.

Station	Area	Contact
Thoothukudi Fire Station	Thoothukudi district · Thoothukudi city	Call0461-2326501
Thermal Fire Station	Thoothukudi district · Thoothukudi thermal power station area	Call0461-2352113
SIPCOT Fire Station (Tuticorin)	Thoothukudi district · SIPCOT industrial area	Call0461-2340091
Kovilpatti Fire Station	Thoothukudi district · Kovilpatti	Call04632-220099
Vilathikulam Fire Station	Thoothukudi district · Vilathikulam	Call04638-233101
Kalugumalai Fire Station	Thoothukudi district · Kalugumalai	Call04632-251301
Tiruchendur Fire Station	Thoothukudi district · Tiruchendur	Call04639-242301
Srivaikundam Fire Station	Thoothukudi district · Srivaikundam	Call04630-255210
Sathankulam Fire Station	Thoothukudi district · Sathankulam	Call04639-266399
Ottapidaram Fire Station	Thoothukudi district · Ottapidaram	Call0461-2366101

Stations and landlines as published by the Tamil Nadu Fire and Rescue Services Department (Tirunelveli Region list, page last updated 16 October 2026); Eral station is left out because its listed number repeats another station. In an emergency, call 112 or 101 first; station lines are office numbers.

Stay safe: quick checklist

Save 112, 101, 100 and the district disaster helpline 1077 in your phone today, along with the District Fire Officer office line 0461-2310107.
At any thatched or tent venue, such as a touring cinema, pandal or wedding shed, find two exits before you sit and keep children close to the aisle.
When northeast monsoon alerts are issued, move vehicles, documents and medicines to a higher floor, and never drive or walk through water over a bridge or causeway.

If you work in the SIPCOT area or the port, learn the flood evacuation route as well as the fire exit, because roads can go under water for days.
At large gatherings and festivals, stay at the edge, note two ways out, and keep children and older people away from the front.
Cool the burn under cool, clean running water for 20 minutes. Even 10 minutes helps if that's all you can manage. No ice, toothpaste, oil or butter.

Related safety guides

Thoothukudi at a glance

Fire stations: 11 listed for Thoothukudi district by the state fire service; 10 with usable numbers shown here
District formed: 20 October 1986, carved out of Tirunelveli district
Lakshmi Touring Talkies fire: 29 July 1979: 78 dead, 88 injured (archival record)
December 2023 rain: 95 cm in 24 hours at Kayalpattinam (IMD, as reported)
Emergency system: 112 for everything; the district lists 101 for fire and 1077 for disasters