CHENNAI: The Water Resources Department (WRD) has issued its first flood alert after the water level in the Poondi reservoir touched 34.05 feet against its full capacity of 35 feet at 8 am on Thursday.
Officials announced that 1,000 cusecs of water will be released through the surplus shutters from 1.30 pm.
R Arunmozhi, Executive Engineer of the Kosasthalaiyar basin, informed the Tiruvallur district collector about the rising water levels.
"Rainfall in the catchment areas of the Poondi reservoir has been increasing, and the water level is expected to reach its full capacity soon. Currently, the reservoir holds 2.839 tmcft of water out of its total capacity of 3.231 tmcft," he said.
He requested the collector to take steps to evacuate residents from several villages, including Nambakkam, Krishnapuram, Attrambakkam, Odhappai, Nelveli, Eraiyur, Beemanthoppu, Korakkathandalam, Somathevanpattu, Meyyur, Velliyur, Thamaraipakkam, Thirukkandalam, Athur, Pandikavanur, Jaganathapuram, Pudhukuppam, Kannipalayam, Vannipakkam, Asuvanpalayam, Madiyur, Seemavaram, Vellivayalsadi, Napalayam, Edayansavadi, Manali, Manali Pudhunagar, Sadayankuppam, and Ennore, as well as other low-lying areas along the Kosasthalaiyar river.
Residents in these regions are advised to remain on alert and follow instructions from local authorities to ensure safety, a statement said.
Meanwhile, several parts of the state received widespread moderate rainfall with intense spells of heavy rains in the last 24 hours, ending Thursday afternoon.
RMC director S Balachandran, who met the press on Thursday afternoon, said that very heavy rainfall was recorded in 4 places. 72 places in the state received heavy rainfall in the last 24 hours. Nagapattinam recorded 18cm, the highest in the state.
Coastal regions in the state may receive moderate to heavy rainfall in the next 24 hours and there was a possibility of extreme heavy rainfall over isolated places in Tirunelveli, Thoothukudi and Tenkasi on Thursday. A red alert has been issued for the day.
As for Chennai, Nerkundram recorded 10 cm of rain, and Meenambakkam recorded 8 cm. Mayiladuthurai also recorded 11 cm in the 24 hours as of 2:30 pm on Thursday.
The well-marked low-pressure area over the Bay of Bengal is expected to weaken as the day progresses. Balachandran said that the on-and-off spells were due to the nature of the low-pressure area.
From Oct 1, the state has received 47 cm of rain on average, 16% higher than normal.
