A road bridge at Ottampatti across Kanappadi river near Thuraiyur in the district was washed away in a flash flood on Wednesday morning.
The bridge that connected Ottampatti and Narasingapuram at the foothills on Pachamalai was said to be about 15 years old. It was serving residents of Narasingampuram and Ottampatti to commute to Uppilliyapuram, Thuraiyur and other areas.
According to sources, the bridge caved in at the early hours on Wednesday in the flash flood following heavy downpour in Pachamalai, Koppampatti, Thuraiyur and eastern parts of Namakkal district. While Thuraiyur recorded 60 mm rain up to 8 am during the 24 hours on Wednesday, Koppampatti and Thenpuranadu in Pachamalai recorded 80 mm and 63 mm respectively. The rain that began at 11 pm on Tuesday continued up to 4 am on Wednesday.
No one was injured in the incident. However, traffic was disrupted on the road between Ottampatti and Narasingapuram, forcing the residents to take a circuitous route to reach Thuraiyur and other areas.
The rain also triggered landslips at two places near the third hair pin bend on Pachamalai ghat road. On information, revenue and forest officials rushed to the spot and cleared the boulders on the road. S. Chandrakumar, Tahsildar, Thuraiyur, told The Hindu that five houses at Renganathapuram, Nagalapuram and Keerambur were damaged due to rain.
Similarly, a goat owned by R. Raju and a cow owned by Thotta gounder of Narasingapuram were found washed away in the flash flood. The disruption due to landslip on Pachamalai ghat road had been cleared, he said.
