Following severe rains experienced in the Nilgiris area, a 40-member National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) team landed here on Tuesday to prepare for any circumstance and conduct rescue operations. On August 3, in anticipation of additional rain predicted by the Met department, the district government issued holidays to educational institutions. The NDRF crew was sent from Arakonam to the district early on Tuesday and would be sent in waves to Coonoor, Gudalur, and Kothagiri, according to official sources. According to them, district Collector SP Amrit on Wednesday declared a holiday for all the schools and institutions because he expected landslides and tree falls as a result of the nonstop rain.
Police and fire services have been put on high alert to deal with the problems of the rains, and 243 landslide-prone sites are being closely watched, they said. The administration may discharge the excess water at any time and will notify residents of low-lying areas and the banks of rivers to migrate to safer locations since all 14 reservoirs are nearly full.
