Rain floods Courtallam Falls; raises Papanasam dam level

Tourists not allowed to take bath in the Falls for the second day on Saturday

August 24, 2014 12:14 pm | Updated 12:14 pm IST - TIRUNELVELI:

The Main Falls in Courtallam is in full flow on Saturday following heavy rain in Western Ghats.

The Main Falls in Courtallam is in full flow on Saturday following heavy rain in Western Ghats.

Unexpected rains in the Western Ghats triggered flash floods in all waterfalls at Courtallam and significant influx of water into the prime reservoirs of the district on Saturday.

Since Papanasam experienced 75 mm rainfall, water level at Papanasam Dam rose from 59 feet to 65.50 feet on Saturday after the influx stood at 5,887 cusecs. The relatively small Servalar dam’s water level leapt from 69 feet to 94 feet this morning, thanks to this heavy influx of water. However, inflow of water into Manimuthar dam was not impressive as the reservoir that experienced only 19 mm rainfall was getting only 55 cusecs.

As intermittent drizzle started in the Western Ghats on Friday, the Main Falls and Five Falls experienced floods in the afternoon and the police subsequently stopped the tourists from taking bath in the falls. When the situation improved in the evening, the visitors were allowed to take bath at safer points.

However, it never lasted long following fresh floods in the waterfalls on Friday night and the situation continued for the second day today as bathing was banned on Saturday also at Main Falls and Five Falls. The only solace for the revellers was the Old Falls where the tourists were allowed to take bath.

The sky remained overcast in most parts of the district on Saturday and intermittent drizzle made the day pleasant.

Rainfall in the district (in mm): Papanasam – 75, Tenkasi – 60, Radhapuram – 42.20, Shencottah – 33, Aayikudi – 25.20, Manimuthar – 19.80, Sivagiri – 10, Sankarankovil – 7, Ambasamudram – 6, Palayamkottai – 6, Tirunelveli – 2 and Cheranmahadevi – 1.20.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.