The Mettur dam in the Salem district of Nadu, India has overflowed due to excessive rain, flooding several villages in the region.
The water level in Stanley reservoir, held back by the dam and with a full capacity of 36.5m, stood at 37m this morning, with an inflow of 6089m3/sec and outflow of 5029m3/sec.
In the last 24 hours, the Mettur area received over 4cm of rainfall. Flood alerts were issued yesterday in 11 districts on the bank of the Cauvery river, and 607ha of cultivated land has now been affected by flood waters. 300 houses are damaged in the state’s Krishnagiri district, and rains have destroyed 600 huts in the Kangampauripattinam area of Salem district.
Sources report that the number of deaths is 25, after a further two bodies were found in Krishnagiri district.
Local authorities have said that approximately US$900,000 of temporary flood relief measures has been taken up in the district, and a full assessment of the damage is being carried out.
This incident was the first time in 44 years that the Stanley reservoir has received an inflow exceeding 5670m3/sec.