A flood alert has been sounded in more than 20 villages in Sathyamangalam, Gobichettipalayam and Bhavani in west Tamil Nadu. Due to heavy rain in Udhagamandalam, over 50,000 cusecs of water were flowing into the Bhavani River, Revenue officials said on Thursday.
The river water reached Lower Bhavani Project Reservoir at Bhavanisagar. The Public Works Department said 38,477 cusecs of water flowing into the Bhavani River reached the reservoir and the flow decreased to 35,067 cusecs during the day.
The level of the reservoir touched 92.77 feet against the full capacity of 105 feet. The officials said if the inflow continues to increase and the level rises upto 100 feet, water would be released from the reservoir into the Bhavani River which would merge with Cauvery.
According to reports, Nilgiris recorded over 111mm of rain Thursday, with Avalanche receiving a record 581mm of rain. Power supply was disrupted in Udhagamandalam as the rain was accompanied by strong winds. 600 trees were reportedly uprooted and landslides were seen in Avalanche and Emerald. Traffic on the winding roads was also brought to halt because of the uprooted trees.
The State Disaster Response Force had been deployed in the area to begin relief work and people have been asked to not step out of their houses unless it was an emergency. The state also evacuated 300 people from areas which could get inundated with water and they were sent to relief camps. These heavy showers are expected to continue in these districts till Saturday. Nilgiris and Coimbatore district are also likely to see thunderstorms with lightning on August 7 and 8.
On August 5, two men, aged 52 and 43, died when roadside trees fell on them in separate incidents at Kokkal and Fingerpost areas near the district-headquarter town of Udhagamandalam.