South TN districts battered; Tamirabarani in spate

TIRUCHY: After Delta and northern districts, the twin districts of Tirunelveli and Tenkasi in the deep south faced the wrath of monsoon on Friday, as heavy to extremely heavy rains lashed the region leaving the Tamirabarani in spate.

Owing to the continuous downpour in the Ghats, the storage in dams went up several notches. Notably, the level of Servalaru Dam rose by 29 feet and Manimutharu Dam by 7 feet in a single day.

A red alert was sounded for many south districts for the past two days. The unprecedented downpour in Tirunelveli that started on Thursday continued through Friday. Oothu in Tirunelveli recorded 54 cm of rain, which was like a repeat of Uthangarai. Other areas which recorded significant rainfall (in cm) are Ambasamundram - 36.6, Kannanidan Anicut - 35.1, Kakkachi - 35, Manjolai - 32, Nalumukku - 31 and Manimuthraru - 29.8. Similarly, Kovilpatti in Thoothukudi received 36.4 cm, Ayikudi in Tenkasi - 31.2 cm and Senkottai - 24 cm on Friday.

With most of the tanks in the region brimming, water entered several residential areas affecting normal life. Papanasam Dam was up 7 feet in a single day on Friday and the storage stood at 76.50 feet against its full capacity of 143 feet.

Similarly, the 156-ft Servalaru dam rose 29 feet and stood at 97.34 feet on Friday while the 118-ft Manimutharu dam stood at 87.28 feet rising by 7 feet during the day.

While Rama Nadhi and Kadana Nadhi were running bank to bank, 50,000 cusecs were flowing in the Tamirabarani triggering a flood alert.

Many of the arterial roads in Tirunelveli and Tenkasi districts were flooded. The Mukkoodal-Edayal road was cut off as heavy boulders fell on the main road.