The hilly regions in Coimbatore and The Nilgiris continued to witness heavy rain on Tuesday also. The rain resulted in substantial improvement in storage in many of the reservoirs and schools remained closed for the second day on Tuesday in The Nilgiris.
Trees were uprooted and power supply was disrupted in several parts of Udhagamandalam and nearby areas. Restoration of power supply gained momentum since Monday afternoon.
Wall collapse caused by dampness has claimed the life of Rangasamy (70) at Karunanidhi Nagar in Chettipalayam on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, with the river Bhavani being in spate, a flood alert has been sounded along the river in places such as Karamadai and Mettupalayam.
Owing to a heavy flow, entry of tourists to Monkey Falls near Aliyar and Kovai Coutrallam near Siruvani has been banned.
In The Nilgiris, Forest Department has formed four teams to remove trees uprooted by gusty winds and rain, while the Highways have pressed earthmovers to clear the roads.
Many areas in The Nilgiris witnessed damage to crops due to flooding and there were reports of damage to houses due to inundation of rainwater in Gudalur and Coonoor. The last few days’ rain has helped the Coimbatore Corporation draw more water from the Siruvani Reservoir.
In less than 24 hours, water level in the Siruvani Reservoir shot up by almost nine feet as heavy rain pounded its catchments.
According to sources in the Tamil Nadu Water Supply and Drainage Board, the water level went up from the Monday morning reading of 9.12 feet to the Tuesday morning reading of 17.88 feet, an increase of 8.76 feet. The reason for the rather drastic increase is in the rainfall recorded, which is 210mm, the sources say and point out that if the rain continued in this fashion the water level may reach the Full Reservoir Level of 49.50 feet.
Capitalising on the increase in water level, the Board has drawn 101 million litres a day (mld) for supply to wayside habitations and the Coimbatore Corporation, the principal beneficiary of the project.
The Coimbatore Corporation used the water to feed 28 wards in full and five — six wards in part in the old city areas.
In Pilloor, with the inflow continuing and water level reaching 97.5ft as against the full level of 100ft, as a matter of precaution, officials started discharge of 11,000 cusecs of water from the reservoir around 4.30 p.m. on Monday, commencing 100 mw power generations.
The TWAD Board too has been drawing a similar quantity for its water supply scheme. If at all there is any fall in water supply, it could be due to the disruption in power supply, the sources add.
Incidents of trees being uprooted resulting in disruption in power supply kept Tangedco officials on their toes.
As a matter of precaution, the administrations in both the districts have kept fire, police, and highways officials in a state of readiness.
In Coimbatore, the total rainfall received in the last 24 hours that ended at 8.30 a.m. on Tuesday stands at 297.60 mm and the average rainfall stood at 24.80 mm. 73 mm was recorded in Valparai PAP followed by 65 mm in Valparai taluk office and 67 in Cincona, 76 in Chinnakallar, 2 in Pollachi, 11 in TNAU and 3.60 in Airport Peelamedu.
As far as the catchments of the Parambikulam Aliyar Project, the rain helped in considerable improvement in storage in many of the reservoirs and steady inflow continued on Monday. even as rain continued. Storage in reservoirs in feet and full reservoir level in brackets: Sholayar 81.25 (160), Parambikulam 15.06 (72), Thoonakadavu — Peruvaripallam 17.20 (22), Aliyar dam 105.60 (120), Thirumurthy dam 25.95 (60) and Amaravati dam 63.75 (90). Rainfall in reservoir areas 60mm in Sholayar, 28 in Parambikulam, 13 and 17 in Thoonadadavu — Peruvaripallam, 4.2 in Aliyar, 3 in Thirumurthi dam, 2 in Amaravathy, 76 in Upper Nirar and 80 in Lower Nirar.
In the last 24-hours that ended at 8.30 a.m. on Tuesday, The Nilgiris recorded a highest of 1,110.60 mm rainfall and the average rainfall stood at 65.3. Avalanche recorded the highest of 245 mm, 127 in Emerald, 120 in Upper Bhavani, 115 in Glenmorgan, 149 in Devala, 40.20 in Ketti, 47.20 in Udhagamandalam, 145 in G Bazar, 55.60 in Naduvatam, 40.20 in K Bridge, 3.60 in Coonoor, 8 in Kotagiri, 1 in Geddai, 17 in Kodanad, 2 in Kinnakorai and 20 in Kallatty.
(With inputs from
Karthik Madhavan)
