A flood alert was sounded in Tamil Nadu’s western and central districts on Wednesday as major dams in the region are full because of heavy water inflow from the neighbouring states, the Hindustan Times reported.

“All major dams in Tamil Nadu have filled and a huge amount of water is now flowing into Mettur, Bhavani Sagar and Amaravathi dams due to surplus inflow from Karnataka and Kerala,” said state Disaster Management Commissioner K Sathyagopal.

“At present, Karnataka is releasing around 1.5 lakh cusecs of water from Billigindulu,” he added. “Similarly, Cauvery catchment area and ghat regions of Tamil Nadu are also receiving downpour, flooding Perunchani, Bhavani Sagar and Amaravathi dams.”

The official said that evacuations from low-lying areas of Salem, Dharmapuri, Kanyakumari and Namakkal had begun. “The Cauvery basin can hold an inflow of 4 lakh cusecs but the public in low-lying areas ought to be evacuated.” With the river in spate, transport services on Salem’s Mettur-Edappadi road were also obstructed, reported PTI.

Salem Collector Rohini R Bhajibhakare inspected the Mettur dam, where the water inflow increased following heavy discharge of water from the Kabini and Krishnaraja Sagar dams in Karnataka, The Hindu reported. She also visited the low-lying areas in Mettur town and said the administration was on high alert.

The Erode district administration has moved more than 90 families in the low-lying areas in Bhavani and Kodumudi to relief camps. Collector S Prabhakar said officials were monitoring the flow of water and had asked people not to enter the Bhavani river since the discharge could be increased to two lakh cusecs.

The water level at the Bhavani Sagar dam crossed 102 feet, as against the full reservoir level of 105 feet, after 11 years. Close to 50,000 cusecs was released into the Bhavani, resulting in water entering homes in low-lying areas and submerging standing crops, The Hindu reported. Standing crops, including banana, maize and turmeric, in hundreds of acres of land located on both sides of the Bhavani have been submerged.

In Coimbatore district’s hilly Valparai area, an elderly woman was washed away in flood waters and a search was on to trace and rescue her. Rainwater also entered close to 500 houses, as schools in Valparai and Pollachi taluks declared a holiday, reported PTI.