Three people were injured when an eucalyptus tree fell on top of a house in VC Colony here following heavy winds accompanied by rain on Monday.
Officials from the fire and rescue services identified the three victims as Madhialagan, 48, and his two sons, Sanjay, 18, and Prasanth, 23. The three persons were sleeping inside their house when an eucalyptus tree near their house uprooted and fell on top of the building early Monday morning.
Fire and rescue service personnel, with the help of the forest department and the revenue department, conducted rescue operation and successfully rescued the three and rushed them to hospital where they are currently undergoing treatment.
The Nilgiris has received rainfall for three consecutive days, with an average of 26.26 mm of rain being recorded over a 24-hour-period till Monday morning. Heavy rains continued in Devala, Pandalur, Avalanche, Emerald and Upper Bhavani, and five dams in the district were almost at full capacity.
Trees uprooted in six places along the Udhagamandalam - Gudalur road, and fire and rescue service personnel spent the entire Monday morning clearing the route for traffic. Power supply was also affected to parts of Udhagamandalam town and surrounding areas since Thursday night.
Nilgiris District Collector J. Innocent Divya in a statement called on residents to not venture out of their houses due to the threat of trees getting uprooted.
Ms. Divya also urged residents to contact the district emergency helpline – 1077, and pass on any information of people continuing to reside in dangerous areas which are under threat from either landslips or tree-falls. She said that 45 teams have been formed to ensure the safety of residents across the Nilgiris and urged people to remain cautious as the heavy winds posed a threat to public safety.