Boy dies in flash floods at Courtallam waterfall in Tamil Nadu's Nilgiris

NilgirisTenkasi (Tamil Nadu): The torrential rain on Friday prompted the Nilgiris district administration to ask tourists to defer their holiday plans till May 20 and in Tenkasi district, the heavy downpour triggered flash floods at Old Courtallam waterfall leading to the death of a 17-year-old boy.

The Nilgiris district administration said very heavy rains have been forecast from May 18 to 20 here and asked people to "avoid" visiting the hilly tourist destination during this period.

District Collector M Aruna said the India Meteorological Department has issued an "orange alert" forecast, which means very heavy rain of 6 cm-20 cm is expected on May 18, 19, and 20.

"Those coming here should have all the required protection. If possible, you can avoid travelling here during this period," she told reporters after chairing a meeting with officials of the Revenue, Police and Fire and Rescue Services department on rain preparedness.

The collector said all the departments concerned are on standby.

Nearly 3,500 disaster response personnel and required equipment including earthmovers are on standby. About 450 temporary shelters have also been kept ready and people have also been asked to stay indoors.

The rain that battered Tenkasi caused the waterfalls at Old Courtallam to swell suddenly, due to which a 17-year-old boy who was bathing under the falls was washed away by the flash floods. The boy was there with his relatives. His body was later recovered by the police and forest officials after a thorough search.

Meanwhile, the Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC), Chennai, has warned of enhanced rainfall activity over Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Karaikal during the next five days.

Light to moderate rainfall at many places with isolated heavy to very heavy rain, thunderstorm and lightning with strong winds, with the speed reaching 30-40 kmph was likely over Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Karaikal during the next five days till May 21, under the influence of upper air cyclonic circulations over the region, it said.

"Heavy to very heavy rain is likely to occur at isolated places over Theni, Dindigul, Tenkasi, Kanyakumari, Tirunelveli, Pudukottai and Ramanathapuram districts," the bulletin said.

Heavy rain is likely to occur in several other districts including Nilgiris, Coimbatore, Erode, Salem, Dharmapuri, Krishnagiri, Tirupattur, Madurai, Sivaganga, Virudhunagar, and Thoothukudi, it said.

Regarding Chennai and neighbouring areas, the bulletin said that for the next seven days (from May 17 to 23), the sky condition was likely to be generally or partly cloudy. "Moderateight rain with thunderstorm and lightning is likely to occur in some areas," it said.