Flood alert in 11 TN districts

Salem, Aug 19 (UNI) The Mettur Dam overflowed at 1030 hrs this morning, prompting the authorities to issue a flood warning to 11 districts in areas downstream of the reservoir.

The districts included Salem, Namakkal, Erode, Karur, Tiruchirapalli, Thanjavur, Pudukottai and Perambalur.

PWD officials have asked the respective collectors to vacate people living in low-lying areas near the River Cauvery.

Apart from the water released this morning, an additional 15,000 cusecs was released from the Stanley Reservoir and this might go upto 60,000 cusecs today, official sources said.

Inflow into the dam is on the rise with more water being released from the Kabini and Krishnarajasagar reservoirs in Karnataka.

Last year, surplus water was released for 81 days, amounting to 1.42 lakh mcft.

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