A herd of elephants damaged the houses of three tribal families near Pandalur on Sunday night.
According to Forest Department officials, the herd entered Kozhikolli late on Sunday night and damaged the houses of S. Kothan, M. Beejan and V. Sankaran, and raided the kitchens.
Hearing the commotion, the families fled from the houses and made their way to safety. The elephants, after feasting on the rice kept inside the houses, left the village.
On information, forest staff rushed to the area and inspected the damages. They said they reported the incident to top forest officials in Gudalur forest division and funds would be sanctioned soon for the houses to be repaired.
As the three families relied on the Public Distribution System to procure essential commodities, the forest staff handed over some rice, dhal and vegetables to them on Monday.