Flood alert issued as Cauvery river in spate; surging Hogenakkal falls shut

COIMBATORE: Vehicle traffic on the National Highway (NH) in Kandampatti in Salem was hit due to overflowing water from the Thirumanimuthar river.

Vehicles queued up for over one km on the flooded NH, while cars and two-wheelers parked beneath the Butterfly flyover were drowned.

A bus got struck and some women trapped in water were rescued. As the water drained by afternoon, vehicle traffic resumed on the stretch after around two hours.

Meanwhile, a flood alert has been issued to people living along the banks of the Cauvery river.

From 5,500 cusecs on Monday, the inflow to Hogenakkal surged to 30,000 cusecs on Tuesday, 4 pm following heavy rains in catchment areas.

Dharmapuri Collector K Shanthi issued an order suspending coracle services and bathing in Hogenakkal Falls.

People residing along the banks of Cauvery have been advised to move to safer regions. Joint teams of fire and rescue personnel, police and revenue department authorities have taken up patrolling to prevent people from entering the river to bathe or wash clothes.

Also, the water level in Mettur Dam in Salem is expected to rise steadily in the coming days.

From 7,414 cusecs on Monday, the inflow into the dam surged to 9,246 cusecs on Tuesday morning. The water storage level in the dam went up marginally from 110.93 feet on Monday to 111.39 on Tuesday.

Given widespread rains, water released from the dam is maintained low at 1,000 cusecs for Delta irrigation and 300 cusecs for canal irrigation.

Tourism Minister R Rajendran inspected the battered Yercaud Ghat Road and directed authorities to clear mud from the road to restore vehicle movement. He also instructed the TNEB officials to restore power in villages affected by power cuts.