Tamil Nadu Revenue and Disaster Management Department Minister RB Udayakumar spoke to the media on Sunday in Chennai and stated that people have been evacuated from the low-lying areas of Salem, Erode, and Namakkal districts following flood alerts issued in parts of the state.
Heavy rains in Karnataka have resulted in the filling of the Mettur reservoir to its maximum capacity of 120 feet. The influx of water into the dam is at 1.3 lakh cusecs.
The persons who have been evacuated are currently being housed in relief camps. Two camps have been set up in Namakkal district, while Erode and Salem districts have one camp each.
According to reports, the minister stated that inter-department zonal disaster management teams have been called to monitor the situation as the water release from Mettur reservoir has reached 1.35 lakh cusecs.
An advisory has been issued to villagers living along the Cauvery river to maintain a safe distance and to not go into the river for bathing, fishing or any other tasks.
Heavy rains are expected in the districts of Nilgiris, Coimbatore, Theni, Dindigul and Tirunelveli on Monday and Tuesday, as per the Met Department.
In Trichy, PWD officials have begun to release excess water flowing in from the Mettur reservoir into the Kollidam river, rendering it to a total of 71,000 cusecs from 18,000 as of Sunday evening. A total of 80,000 cusecs was released, the highest amount to be released since 2013 according to authorities.
“The state government has also instructed local bodies to erect warning boards on either side of low level bridges and causeways about the flood situation,” Udayakumar reportedly said to media personnel on Sunday.
The Department of Revenue and Disaster Management had issued similar flood alerts in July, after water was released from the Mettur Dam. District collectors were also informed about precautionary measures to take to ensure that least damage was done.