20 trees uprooted in Nilgiris

Udhagamandalam: Heavy rain, accompanied by strong wind, lashed the Nilgiris, uprooting at least 20 trees in various places in the hill retreat. Devala town and Kinnakorai in Kundha taluk recorded the highest rainfall at 137mm and 100mm, respectively, for the 24 hours that ended at 7am on Saturday.
Cherangode recorded 72mm rainfall during the period followed by Pandalur (56mm), Kundha (39mm), Ooty (34mm) and Coonoor (31mm).
District collector J Innocent Divya said officials were monitoring Kundha and Devala areas. Officials are monitoring those areas. “As a precautionary measure, 57 residents of Devala and Cherangode have been shifted to two relief camps, as their houses were located on low-lying areas.”
She said disaster management plans were in place in the district. “If the heavy rain continues, people living in low-lying areas will be shifted to nearby relief camps, which are ready for use.”
Most of the uprooted trees were small and they were removed from the roads immediately. “There is no damage to houses in rain-related calamities in the district so far,” Divya said.
A National Disaster Response Force team, meanwhile, landed in Ooty on Saturday to render their service in relief works. The team comprises 25 personnel headed by inspector Ganesh Prasad. They would assess the areas in the district and camp in vulnerable locations.
The district has set up a control room with toll-free number 1077, which is functioning round the clock, to help the rain-affected people. Similarly, control rooms have also been opened in the revenue divisional offices and taluk offices in the district.