Cyclone Tauktae: Rain causes heavy inflow to dams in west, south Tamil Nadu

MADURAI/ COIMBATORE: Several districts in western and southern Tamil Nadu received moderate to heavy rainfall triggered by Cyclone Tauktae on Sunday resulting in heavy inflow to major dams. Coimbatore and Tirupur experienced continuous showers ranging from mild to severe for the whole day.
In the south, Theni received heavy showers while Kanyakumari had a wet day. Nilgiris was pounded by heavy rain throughout the night on Saturday with the showers continuing on Sunday too.
Rain in the catchment areas resulted in the rate of inflow to Mullaperiyar dam going up to over 2,000 cusecs (cubic feet per second) in the 24 hours ending 8am on Sunday. The water level in the dam stood at 129.60 feet against its maximum permitted level of 142 feet with the rate of inflow at 2,478 cusecs.
Theni received an average rainfall of 18.1 mm. However, many of theother southern districts which experienced rain on Saturday experience a cloudy day with drizzle in the evening. Some parts of the region like Sirumalai in Dindigul experienced heavy winds late on Saturday, which damaged roofs of houses.
The level in the Vaigai dam level was 62.9 feet with inflow at 930 cusecs while Sothuparai dam was overflowing at 126.73 feet against its maximum level of 126.28 feet. Kottakudi river in Theni was flooded . Kanyakumari district received an average of 51.9 mm. The inflow at Perunchani and Petchiparai dams was at 2,000 cusecs.
In the Nilgiris, people were stuck indoors all through as rain water flowed through and stagnated on several stretches in Ooty, Coonoor, Kothagiri, Gudalur and Pandalur. Electricity suspension due to trees branches falling on power lines was reported at any places. The showers brought down the temperature by several notches. Sholayar received the highest of 170 mm rain in the 24 hour ending Sunday morning while Valparai received 108 mm and Pollachi 25 mm. Water level in Pillur dam went up by five feet in a day as the rate of inflow rose to 6,000 cusecs and then dropping to 1,500 cusecs on Sunday.