Rains continued across the Nilgiris on Friday, as the district administration stepped up contingency measures to prevent loss of life and injuries to residents across the district.
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Officials from the State Highway Department said that trees had become uprooted along many places along the Udhagamandalam to Gudalur road, and an earth mover is being used to clear fallen trees to restore traffic flow. A few minor landslips were also reported but there was no major blockage of traffic.
Nilgiris Collector, J. Innocent Divya, speaking to reporters said that two teams of National Disaster Relief Force (NDRF) personnel have been dispatched to the Nilgiris, with one team to be stationed in Udhagamandalam and the other in Gudalur.
Heavy rainfall was recorded in Pandalur and Avalanche, with both regions receiving more than 150 millimetres of rain over a 24-hour period till Friday morning. Gudalur, Devala, Naduvattam, Kundah and Upper Bhavani also recorded heavy rainfall. The Nilgiris district administration stated that an average of 58.62 millimeters of rain was recorded across the district.
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The Collector said that some residents from Gudalur and Kundah had been housed at temporary relief shelters as they were thought to be at risk from landslips, flooding or falling trees. “Village administrative officers have also been instructed to advise people living in damaged houses to move to relief camps,” said Ms. Divya.
The Ponnani River in Gudalur was also in spate due to the heavy rain, and inter-departmental teams from the district administration were monitoring the situation closely, officials said.