Chennai: With water level in Periyar and Vagai dams rapidly rising to 141.3 feet and 66 feet, the district administration on Friday issued the first flood warning in Theni and Madurai districts.
The flood warning has been issued owing to heavy inflow and discharge from Periyar and Vaigai dams, revenue minister R. B. Udayakumar said and asserted that the rescue teams are geared up to help people in case of any emergency. Alert has been issued in 13 districts. People at Mayanur in Karur district have been advised to shift to relief camps with authorities expecting the discharge to touch three lakh cusecs Saturday. About 8,410 people have been accommodated in 96 relief camps.
“The 30,000 cusecs per second of additional discharge totalling to 2 lakh cusecs from Krishnaraja Sagar and Kabini dams (in Karnataka) and combined discharge from dams, including Bhavani and Amaravati, is expected to be about 3 lakh cusecs which will reach Mayanur check dam on Friday early morning,” Udayakumar told reporters here on Friday.
The minister who reviewed the state of preparedness of the State Disaster Response Force in tackling any adverse situation, urged people living in low-lying areas and along the river banks to cooperate with officials and move to relief camps. About 8,410 people have been accommodated in 96 relief camps in Namakkal, Erode, Kanyakumari, Karur, Dharmapuri and Tiruchi.
Erode tops the list with 5,875 people in 66 camps. State ministers are camping in the districts to oversee relief operations, Udayakumar said. The State Disaster Response Force personnel have been deployed and inter-departmental teams are on stand by as well, he added.
People living along the banks of Cauvery and Bhavani have been advised to move to safer places, as over two lakh cusecs of water is being discharged from three dams, and Mettur too. Owing to the heavy inflow from Karnataka reservoirs the combined discharge is over 2.30 lakh cusecs from Mettur, Bhavani Sagar and Amaravathi dams.
In Erode, standing crop in about 300 hectares has been affected due to flooding in the Cauvery and Bhavani rivers. Bhavani town near Erode is facing inundation and the famous Sri Sangameswarar shrine is surrounded by water. Similarly, 400 houses at Kodumudi are facing threat of being inundated.
