COIMBATORE/TIRUPUR/ERODE: Gudalur in Nilgiris district was battered by rains for the fifth consecutive day on Friday. With a prediction of heavy rainfall made for Saturday as well district collector J Innocent Divya asked the people to stay indoors and avoid coming outside during the rains.
"As heavy rainfall is predicted till Sunday, the disaster management team has been kept on standby at Gudalur, Emerald, Avalanche, and Kundah," she said. Removal of uprooted trees on roads and restoration of electricity would be prioritised, she added.
Officials said that at least 250 trees, mostly along the Ooty - Gudalur Road, were uprooted due to the rains.
A landslide was reported near EB Resident Colony at Emerald Valley on Thursday. However, the district has claimed that there have been no casualties. The Collector said 900 people have been shifted to 14 relief camps for safety. The public has been instructed not to stand near electric poles, boxes and transformers during thunderstorms and lightning.
According to the district rainfall report, Devala recorded 36 cm of rainfall over 24-hours ending 8am Friday, while Gudalur recorded 34.9 cm and Avalanche 34.6 cm.
Flood alerts have been issued urging people living near the Bhavanisagar and Amaravathi dams, in Erode and Tirupur respectively, and river Bhavani in Coimbatore district to move to safer ground.
The copious rainfall in Nilgiris and Erode districts has increased the water inflow into the Bhavanisagar dam as a result of which the flood alert was issued. At 4 pm on Friday, the inflow stood at 27,289 cusecs (of which 21300 cusecs was the discharge from Pillur dam) while outflow was maintained at 500 cusecs into Kalingarayan and 400 cusecs into Arakankottai-Thadappalli canals. The reservoir recorded a storage of 26.23 tmcft against the total capacity of 32.8 tmcft.
Similarly, the storage in the Amaravathi dam has reached 82 feet against its total capacity of 90 feet. Officials expect the dam to reach full capacity later on Friday night. Water from the dam is being released for irrigation and drinking water purposes in Tirupur and Karur districts from August 6 to August 16.
In Coimbatore, with the river Bhavani in spate, the public residing on its banks was issued an alert. On Friday, the Municipal Administration Minister SP Velumani reviewed the situation at Mettupalayam and said all preparatory measures had been taken.
Meanwhile, the water level at Hogenakkal has risen to 42,000 cusecs, officials said. A senior engineer with the TWAD said that at 6 am on Friday, an inflow of 30,000 cusecs was reported in Biligundulu. By 6 pm, water levels were reported at 42,000 cusec. The level will continue to rise as Krishnasagar and Kabini dams have released a combined total of 90,000 cusecs of water while heavy rainfall is continuing in the Cauvery catchment areas.
At least 10 families living in localities near the Noyyal river in Tirupur city had to be evacuated on Friday evening after the river submerging low bridges in the Tirupur city and its surroundings and flooded houses in Annaipalayam and Rayapuram after breaching its banks in those areas. The villagers of Ravathur near Sulur, in Coimbatore district, had to take a detour of over 10km after a ground-level bridge across the Noyyal River was washed away.