Heavy rain in Western Ghats triggers flooding at Kovai Courtallam

Heavy rain in the Western Ghats has caused a surge in water flow at the Kovai Courtallam waterfalls, prompting the Forest Department to prohibit tourists from visiting the spot as a safety precaution.

With the northeast monsoon gaining strength in Tamil Nadu, the Nilgiris and Coimbatore districts received good rainfall a few days ago. Drizzle continued throughout the night from the day before yesterday until yesterday morning.

The Meteorological Department had forecast widespread rainfall in 16 districts, including the Nilgiris, Coimbatore, Tiruppur and Erode, following the strengthening of a low-pressure area over the Arabian Sea. Subsequently, rainfall intensified in the Western Ghats.

Heavy rain in the Siruvani hills led to a sudden rise in water flow at the Kovai Courtallam waterfalls. In view of the flood situation, the Forest Department barred tourists from visiting the falls on Wednesday. The restriction is likely to continue if the rainfall intensifies.

The intensified monsoon has also increased inflow into the Siruvani dam, one of Coimbatore’s key sources of drinking water. Against its full reservoir level of 44.61 feet, the water level stood at 41.33 feet on Wednesday. With 124 mm of rainfall recorded in the dam’s catchment areas, the reservoir is expected to reach its full capacity soon.

The Bhavani Sagar [sic] Billur dam, another major source of drinking water for the city, has reached 90.75 feet against its full capacity of 100 feet. The inflow into the dam stood at 826 cusecs.

With both the Siruvani and Billur dams nearing full capacity, concerns over a possible drinking water shortage in Coimbatore city have eased.

The rainfall recorded at various locations included 79 mm in the Billur dam area, 71 mm in the Upper Nirar dam area, 70 mm in and around Karamadai, 87 mm at Chinnakallar in Valparai and 12.80 mm at Tamil Nadu Agricultural University.