Rain triggers landslides, dams swell up in TN
NEW DELHI: Incessant rains in the Nilgiris district for more than ten days resulted in landslides at many places. The dams in the Western Tamil Nadu are filling to the brim, reported Tamil daily Dinakaran on Saturday.
The Nilgiris district has been receiving heavy to very heavy rains with thunderstorms for the last two days. The catchment areas like Avilanji, Upper Bhavani, and Ooty suburban areas are receiving incessant rains. Avilanji recorded 16 centimeters of rainfall while Naduvattam recorded 14 centimeters of rainfall on Friday.
Farmlands at Kappathorai, Muthorai Palada, and Nanjanad areas are flooded destroying more than 50 acres of crops.
A tree fall at Kundapalam Ramaiah Bridge affected traffic in Manjoor and Ooty road for several hours. Landslides were reported in Rosemount, Nondimedu and local people are scared of more landslides if the heavy rains continue to lash the Nilgiris district.
Meanwhile, the torrential rainfall around the Mettupalayam area of Coimbatore district resulted in the Pillur dam filling to the brim. The excess water from the dam is released into the Bhavani river causing the flooding of low-lying areas along the river. Noyyal, a tributary of River Cauvery, flowing in the Western Tamil Nadu is also flooded due to the rains in catchment areas.
As these rivers are in spate, the Coimbatore district administration has issued a flood warning to people living near the river beds. Bhavanisagar dam in Erode district, another important water source of Western Tamil Nadu, has reached 98 feet out of its capacity of 120 feet.
Anticipating further rains and a sudden surge of inflow, the Public Works Department has warned people residing along the channels to migrate to safer places.
The National Disaster Response Force from Ranipet was rushed to Coimbatore and the Nilgiris to carry out disaster mitigation works.
The discharge from Kabini dam in Karnataka has increased to 30,000 cubic feet per second due to heavy rains in Karnataka’s Kodagu district.
Another 6000 cubic feet per second of water is released from Karnataka’s Krishnaraja Sagar dam. The water is expected to reach the Mettur dam in Salem district on Saturday.