Flood alert in six Cauvery districts as Karnataka releases water
The water takes two days to reach Salem’s Mettur dam.
A flood alert was issued in at least six districts along the Cauvery in Tamil Nadu after Karnataka released more than one lakh cusecs water, PTI reported on Friday. The alert came a day after the Central Water Commission issued an advisory.
The water was released from Kabani and KRS dams in Karnata after heavy rain. It takes around two days to reach the Mettur dam in Tamil Nadu’s Salem district. District collectors in Krishnagiri, Dharmapuri, Salem, Erode, Tiruchirapalli and Thanjavur districts have issued the alert and asking those living along the Cauvery and in low lying areas to move to safer places.
The water level in Mettur dam was at 116.85 feet Thursday, The Times of India reported. Its maximum height is 120 feet with a storage of 88.53 tmc ft.
Parts of Karnataka and Kerala have had heavy rainfall this monsoon, with 29 people killed in Kerala due to the downpour so far. All gates of the Idukki reservoir were opened after 26 years and thousands of people have been evacuated from flooded areas.