TIRUNELVELI: Papanasam and Manimuthar in Tirunelveli district recorded 185mm and 165mm rainfall while Ambasamudram recorded 97mm in the 24 hours till 8am on Wednesday. The district recorded an average rainfall of 77.68mm. Due to flooding bathing has been banned at all Courtallam main falls, old falls and five falls.
Thamirabarani river that was flooded due to release of nearly 30,000 cusecs from Papanasam and Manimuthar reservoirs on Tuesday left several low lying areas on the banks of the river inundated. Water left paddy fields flooded and also entered habitations in parts of Tirunelveli city.
Drop in rainfall at night resulted in a marginal drop in the inflow to the two major reservoirs, reflecting in a equal drop in the out flow in Thamirabarani. It is expected to reduce water level in the river over the next few hours.
After visiting the affected areas in Tirunelveli city on Wednesday morning district collector V Vishnu told reporters that 227 persons from low lying areas across the district have been evacuated by Tuesday evening and relocated to temporary shelters. They have started returning to their homes as the water is getting drained from their localities. Rain has reduced by Wednesday morning and it is only drizzling in many places.
Two National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams with 25 personnel each that reached on Tuesday night have been located at one each in Vikramasingapuram and in Tirunelveli town. They will be deployed when need arises. Teams comprising revenue, agriculture, police, public works and rural development departments were monitoring the 87 vulnerable areas throughout the night.
Help was sent to one area that was disconnected at Vikramasingapuram last night through the Navy and fire and rescue services department. Drop in out flow into Thamirabarani River from the two major reservoirs is expected to reflect in the afternoon.
Assessment of crop damage will soon begin.