While farmers in the Cauvery delta region cheered the copious outflow of water from the Mettur and Grand Anaicut dams that ended a distressing spell of drought, floods washed away two persons each in Salem and Thanjavur districts on Sunday. During the day, the Mettur Dam reached its full level.
Besides, four youth were stranded in floodwaters in Hogenakkal in Dharmapuri district and were desperately looking for a safe spot to brave death. A team from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) from Arakkonam in Vellore district rushed to Dharmapuri to rescue them late in the evening.
Police said Arun Kumar (17), a Class XI student from Nerupur in Dharmapuri, had ventured for a swim near the Mettur power house outlet in Salem when strong currents swept him away. A search was on for his body. Similarly, Murugan (37) of Pallapatti in Salem, who had gone to Poolampatti near Edappadi, a riverside village, to celebrate adiperukku on Saturday, was washed away from a rocky surface.
In Thanjavur, second year students of P R Engineering College S Subramanian and R Rajarajan (both 19), who ventured into the Vennaru River for a bath, drowned due to a rise in outflow in the river.