Heavy rain continued across the Nilgiris on Thursday, leading to gridlocked highways and parts of Udhagamandalam town affected by water-logging in low-lying areas.
An average of 27.61 mm rain was recorded throughout the district, with more than 100 mm rain in Avalanche, and heavy rainfall in Kundah, Glenmorgan, Pandalur, Upper Gudalur and Naduvattam. The rain in the district has continued for over a week, with power outages being reported in many parts. Power outages were reported in parts of Udhagamandalam and Coonoor towns on Wednesday night and Thursday morning.
According to officials from the State Highways Department, three trees uprooted along the Udhagamandalam to Gudalur road and blocked traffic. Officials from the Highway Department used earthmovers and heavy equipment to remove the trees.
On Thursday, traffic came to a standstill along the Mettupalayam to Coonoor to Udhagamandalam Road as a heavy vehicle broke down during the downpour. Vehicles from Udhagamandalam proceeding to Coimbatore were asked to take a detour via Kotagiri to reach their destinations.
Water-logging was reported in a few places in low-lying areas of the town, while flooding of agricultural field in a few areas, such as Ketti Palada and Muthorai Palada was reported.
There was also heavy traffic in Udhagamandalam and Coonoor towns. Fire and rescue service teams remained in a state of preparedness to attend to emergencies. No major damage to public infrastructure, nor were any injuries reported.