Red alert issued for Nilgiris district following incessant rain

The Regional Meteorological Centre in Chennai on Thursday issued a red alert for Nilgiris district following incessant rains.

The RMC has predicted isolated heavy to very heavy rain with extremely heavy rain at one or two places in the district.

The movement of vehicles from the Nilgiris to Kerala is likely to be affected as the road linking the neighbouring state is damaged at Nadugani. Traffic between Gudalur and Karnataka was affected at Thorapalli area in the district for nearly five hours as the gusty winds accompanying the rain uprooted bamboo trees and tossed them on the road.

Over one hundred houses and agricultural lands were inundated by rainwater in Pandalur and Uppatti areas near Gudalur.

People affected by inundation have been shifted to safe places, a senior district official said.

Landslide occurred at Avalanche-Upper Bhavani road.

State Tourism Minister K Ramachandran, accompanied by Additional Collector H R Koushik and other officials, visited the affected places and directed the authorities to take appropriate action.

Owing to the downpour, many tourists had to remain confined to their hotel rooms. The Forest department informed that tourist spots including Doddabetta Peak in the district will remain shut for two more days.

The police urged motorists to avoid venturing out in the night.

About 14 dams in the district are receiving copious inflows and the water level is inching towards the full level capacity, an official said.

About 40 EB posts have been affected in Ooty, Kothagiri, and Gudalur, and efforts were on to restore them.