Rains lash Nilgiris; 18 cm in Avalanche

COIMBATORE: Heavy rains lashed the Nilgiris on Wednesday resulting in tree falls and damage to houses.

The sky which remained overcast over the last few days began to pour out late Tuesday night. The Avalanche region received the highest rainfall of 180 mm in the last 24 hours.

Rains accompanied by strong winds uprooted trees on Fern Hill Road, Kulisolai Road, Thalaikundha-Attukal Road, ‘O’ Valley, Devarshola, Ayyankolli-Kolapalli Road, and a few other areas across the district.

Multiple teams of fire and rescue personnel were on their toes removing more than eight trees that had fallen on these roads resulting in traffic snarls.

Police said one Sadasivam, who was riding a bike, was severely injured after a branch of a tree fell on him on ‘O’ Valley to Attur Road. Minor earth slips were reported in a few localities. Two houses, owned by Krishnan in Pandalur and Kannammal in Coonoor were damaged in the rains.

Several villages including Kottapadi and Malaven Cherambadi had drowned in darkness through the night due to power cuts following rains. To tackle rain-related emergencies, a team of 43 National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has been deployed in the hill district.

Along with them, the officials of various state departments have also swung into action and are keeping a watch in 283 areas identified as prone to rain damage. As many as 456 temporary shelters are in place to accommodate the affected people.

Similarly, as the sky opened up in Valparai hills, the schools were declared a holiday. Also, visitors were barred from visiting ‘Kavi Aruvi’ due to flooding.

Havoc in Kumari too, SDRF placed on alert

Rains lashed parts of Kanniyakumari district since Tuesday and the cold weather prevailing in the coastal district has provided much respite from the heat. Two inmates of a house were injured after a tree uprooted by strong winds on their house located on poramboke lands at Erachakulam in Thovalai. Strong winds also uprooted three trees and tilted five electricity poles in parts of Agastheeswaram, sources revealed. As heavy rainfall is predicted in the coming days since the southwest monsoon is becoming more intense in the neighbouring state of Kerala, precautionary measures have been taken by the district administration. Collector PN Sridhar inspected the preparedness measures. A team of State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) comprising 90 personnel has been deployed in Thiruvattar in the district as a contingency. Officials of inter- department zonal teams are also on alert, sources said. Several catchment areas in the district also experienced rains on Wednesday. Among 26 rain gauge stations, Sivalogam (Chittar-II) received the maximum amount of rainfall registering 36.4 mm, until 8 am, on Wednesday. Mambalathuraiyaru recorded 32.2 mm rain, while it was Balamore 31.4 mm, Thuckalay 29.3 mm, Perunchani 26.2 mm, Puthen dam 24.8 mm and Pechiparai 23.4 mm, sources said.