Heavy rain lashed Tiruppur district on Wednesday evening with Kundadam recording the highest rainfall in the State for the 24-hour period on Thursday morning with 200 mm of rainfall.
According to the district administration’s rainfall data for the 24-hour period ending at 7 a.m. on Thursday, Dharapuram received 132 mm of rainfall, followed by Tiruppur Collectorate with 110 mm. Other parts in the district that received heavy rain include Avinashi - 70 mm, Thirumoorthy dam - 41 mm, Amaravathi dam - 38 mm, Palladam - 84 mm and Tiruppur North - 73 mm. The district received an average rainfall of 64.71 mm during the period.
In Tiruppur Corporation limits, areas such as Mumoorthi Nagar, Balan Nagar and Angeripalayam experienced flooding and the water entered some of the houses late on Wednesday. Corporation Commissioner Kranti Kumar Pati said that there was no need to shift people to rescue shelters and that the stagnant water in most of the low-lying areas were cleared using sullage collection vehicles and motor pumps by Thursday afternoon.
The Corporation’s helpline for its 24x7 Emergency Control Room 0421-2321500 received 26 calls as of Thursday morning and all the complaints were attended to, Mr. Pati said. Areas through which River Noyyal flows in Tiruppur and channels such as Jammanai Odai and Sangilipalam are being closely monitoring to prevent overflow of water during heavy rain, he added.
Meanwhile, personnel from the Tiruppur South Fire Station rescued two families comprising 11 persons on boats in Avinashipalayam on the outskirts of Tiruppur in the early hours of Thursday. Officials said that the Sungam area in Avinashipalayam was flooded and two families were stuck inside their houses. Upon receiving the distress call at 3.59 a.m. on Thursday, the personnel rushed to the spot with boats and rescued the two families.
In Udumalpet, an elderly man died after being washed away in the floods as he tried to cross a causeway during the rain on Wednesday. Sources in Tamil Nadu Fire and Rescue Services said that Chinnasamy (75) and his son Selvakumar (25) attempted to cross the causeway connecting two villages in an autorickshaw. As the causeway was submerged following the release of water from Thirumoorthy dam, the son lost control of the vehicle and both were washed away. Personnel from Udumalpet Fire Station rescued the son and retrieved the father’s body from the flood water, according to the sources.
Officials from the Public Works Department (Water Resources Organisation) said that the water level in Amaravathi dam touched 88 feet against the full reservoir level of 90 feet in the early hours of Thursday, following which the surplus water of 10,000 cusecs was released at 2 a.m. Flood warning was issued to the residents living on the banks of River Amaravathi, officials said.
