COIMBATORE: Nilgiris got a breather on Saturday, after five days of battering. It witnessed a reduction in the intensity of rainfall, despite a forecast of a likely heavy to very heavy rainfall on the day. Forenoon, the rain clouds made space for sunshine in many parts of the district. However, the favour did not last long. Many pockets of the district received rains post noon.
During the 24 hours ending 6.30 am Saturday, the district recorded 1,398 mm of rainfall. Devala continued to receive the bulk of rainfall measuring 341 mm, followed by Panthalur (188 mm), and Cherankode (181 mm). The Regional Meteorological Centre (Chennai) has forecast a likely heavy to very heavy rainfall until Monday.
However, the district has been placed in the ‘orange’ category, which advises stakeholders to be prepared, by Monday. The district was placed under the ‘red’ category (take action) on Saturday. Sources said, disaster management and fire department teams slogged to remove debris from landslides, and uprooted trees on Ooty-Gudalur Highway.
Over 300 field staff deployed
With several pockets facing power disruption for the last five days, the TANGEDCO has mobilised over 300 staff from Coimbatore and Tirupur, in addition to the existing strength, for restoration works.
Many trees, electric poles, transformers, and other power infrastructure were damaged by the rains. As a result, several areas witnessed outages.
TANGEDCO (Coimbatore region) Chief Engineer J Kalaiselvi said, “Field staff are working round-the-clock to restore the connection. So far, power has been restored in some villages in Coonoor and Ooty town. Focus now, is on rural areas. Works will be completed in another four to five days.”