Chennai: Normal life in the picturesque Nilgiris was thrown out of gear on Wednesday due to heavy rainfall leading to closure of several tourist attractions, even as the MeT Department issued a Red Alert to the hill district and parts of Coimbatore.
Several areas in Nilgiris district have been pounded by heavy rains for the past few days due to the influence of south-west monsoon. On Wednesday, several localities in Gudalur and other areas were flooded, confining people indoors and prompting the state government to send four teams of the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) to handle the situation.
The MeT Department said heavy to very heavy rain is likely to occur at isolated places over Nilgiris district and ghat areas of Coimbatore district on Wednesday and Thursday. People were also inconvenienced due to the nail biting cold in Nilgiris.
Avalanche in Nilgiris recorded the highest rainfall in the state with 34 cm rainfall in 24 hours ending 8.30 am on July 16 followed by Upper Bhavani (22 cm), Devala (15 cm), Valparai, a scenic town in Coimbatore district (8 cm), and Ooty (3 cm).
Overall, the Nilgiris district recorded 6.7 cm rainfall in 24 hours ending 8.30 am on July 16, the IMD said.
The rains in western ghats in Karnataka is also good news for Tamil Nadu as the inflow into the Stalin Reservoir in Mettur, lifeline of lakhs of farmers in the Cauvery Delta region, is expected to witness an increase. The inflow into Biligundlu, the entry point of Cauvery into Tamil Nadu from Karnataka, shot up to 21,000 cusecs at 1.30 pm.
Published 17 July 2024, 15:14 IST