Tamil Nadu - Tirunelveli   

Rain triggers flash floods

Staff Reporter

Courtallam falls are surging; 50 sheep killed in wall collapse

A SHEET OF WATER: An old woman wading through flood water in Panagudi on Tuesday. — Photo: A.Shaikmohideen

TIRUNELVELI: Flash floods, triggered by heavy overnight rain in the Western Ghats, on Tuesday surrounded more than 100 houses on four streets of Panagudi, a small hamlet near Valliyoor on Tirunelveli-Nagercoil National Highway.

While villagers say that rampant encroachment on Alanthuraiyar channels led to flooding of the area, revenue and Public Works Department officials maintain that the sudden opening of shutters of an irrigation tank, west of Panagudi, created this unusual situation. Efforts were on to drain the floodwater from the streets.

Though Panagudi and its surrounding areas did not witness any downpour last night, the Western Ghats, which is just four km away from this hamlet, experienced good showers causing heavy floods in Alanthuraiyar.

While one of the main channels of this river leads to Pazhaiyar in Kanyakumari district from a point called `Kanjithotti' on the Western Ghats, another channel feeds water to a good number of irrigation tanks in Radhapuram taluk.

As the main channel providing water to Radhapuram tanks and wild streams originating from the Western Ghats have suffered blocks at several points due to encroachments, floodwaters entered Soosaiyappar North Car Street, Antoniyar Street, Kavimani Street, Sacred Heart Street of Panagudi, Swamiyar Kudiyiruppu, Nerunji Colony, Thalavaipuram and Sivakamipuram after filling up Miaputhukkulam, the first tank under this irrigation system.

The Kuththarapaanjan Falls on the periphery of the Western Ghats, which is a `mini Courtallam' for the residents of Panagudi, experienced heavy floods in the morning.

More than 50 sheep, which took shelter near a compound wall of CSI cemetery at Panagudi, were killed when the wall collapsed due to floods.

"Besides clearing encroachments on the channels and wild streams, officials should take efforts to divert the floodwater to Sivakami Puthukkulam, Idaiyankulam, Perumalkulam, Puthukkulam and Punjai Chettykulam," a resident of Panagudi said.

Meanwhile, all waterfalls at Courtallam witnessed heavy floods on Tuesday morning and tourists were asked to take bath only at safer points. Water level in the Papanasam dam rose from 79.40 feet to 82.80 feet on Tuesday morning and storage level at Servalar dam went up from 96.13 feet to 97.50 feet.

The water level at Manimuthar dam increased from 64.65 feet to 66.85 feet.

Our Nagercoil Staff Reporter reports

Heavy rain in Kanyakumari

Heavy rain continued to lash various parts of the district for the fourth day on Tuesday. The tiled roof of a primary school was damaged at Myladi following heavy rain. Many trees were uprooted near Kanyakumari.

According to sources, the water level in Pechipparai stood at 24.40 feet (total capacity of 48 feet), 51.40 feet in Perunchani (77 feet), 4.10 feet in Chittar I (18 feet) and 4.23 feet in Chittar II (18 feet).

The maximum rainfall of 29 mm was recorded at Pechipparai followed by 24.5 mm in Perunchani, 24 mm each in Puthen dam and Surulode, 23.7 mm in Kannimar, 18 mm in Boothapandi, 13 mm in Kottaram, 12 mm in Chittar I, 9.4 mm in Myladi and 6.4 mm in Nagercoil.

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