Heavy rain in Gudalur and Pandalur taluks led to the collapse of the roof of the science lab of the Pandalur Government Higher Secondary School on Wednesday.
Devala police said that heavy rain was recorded in Pandalur taluk from Tuesday.
As the building was already in a dilapidated condition, the roof of the lab, which had become seeped with water, collapsed.
A student from the school in Pandalur said that water would seep into the building during times of rain as there was very little maintenance done on the building. “As we and the teachers were already aware that the building was not very safe, it was not used very often, but only during times of necessity,” he said. Police said that the incident could have been a lot worse if the incident had occurred when the school had been functioning.
School Education Department officials said that inspections would be carried out in the coming days at schools across the district to ensure that the buildings were safe.
In the Nilgiris, a total of 714 mm of rain was recorded since Wednesday, with Devala receiving almost 100 mm, while Avalanche and Upper Bhavani received more than 100 mm of rain. Coonoor, Kotagiri and Udhagamandalam towns received comparatively less rainfall, and there was no major disruptions to traffic.