Rapid rise in dam levels at Tirunelveli, Kanniyakumari

Though the Southwest monsoon started on a weak note, it gathered momentum later in most of the districts abutting the western ghats.

In a single day, the inflow into major dams, including Papanasam and Kodumudiyar, witnessed a massive surge. The level in Kodumudiyar dam stood at 44 feet on Thursday. The storage was 29 feet on Wednesday. Furthermore, the level in Papanasam dam in Tirunelveli which stood at 65 feet on Wednesday and rose to 77.50 feet on Thursday. The inflow into Servalar dam increased by 28 feet, where the storage increased to 108 feet. As for Manimuthar dam, the level increased by four feet adding to a total of 54 feet.

Following the torrential rains, the Gundar dam near Sengottai in Tirunelveli district, which has storage capacity of 36.10 feet, started overflowing. The highest amount of rainfall recorded until 8 am on Thursday was at Papanasam, which received 110 mm.However, due to the heavy flow in the falls at Courtallam, tourists were barred from bathing.

In Kanniyakumari, the level in Perunchani dam has increased to 40.70 feet, against its full capacity of 77 feet. The level stood at 34.28 feet in Mambalathuraiyaru dam, which has a capacity of 54 feet. With a total of 25 rain gauge stations across Kanniyakumari district, an average of 51.85 mm rain was recorded till 8 am on Thursday. Balamore recorded highest amount of rainfall with 86.4 mm.