More houses likely to be flooded in Erode as discharge in River Cauvery stepped up

“Water would enter another 50 to 75 houses by Tuesday night.”

With the discharge from the Stanley Reservoir in Mettur stepped up to 1.50 lakh cusecs and could be increased further, the district administration has sounded flood alert to people living in low-lying areas in Bhavani and Kodumudi as more houses are likely to be flooded here on Tuesday.

Due to increase in inflow, the discharge from the reservoir that was 1.30 lakh cusecs in the morning was increased to 1.40 lakh cusecs and again to 1.50 lakh cusecs at 2.30 p.m. Officials of the Water Resources Department (WRD) said that the discharge could be increased upto 1.70 lakh cusecs at any moment and asked people living on the banks of the river and in low-lying areas to move to safer places.

Revenue officials said that more houses in Kandhan Nagar, Cauvery Nagar, Gas Godown area, Cauvery Street, Market Street, Pasuveswarar Street in Bhavani municipal areas and Karungalpalayam in Corporation limits, Eluppu Thoppu in Kodumudi would be affected due to the increase in discharge. “Water would enter another 50 to 75 houses by Tuesday night and families would be moved to relief centres”, they added.

A total of 448 persons continue to be in the five relief centres in the district while officials have kept ready another three to five centres for shifting the people by Tuesday night. Revenue officials continue to monitor the flow of the river and issue alerts to the people in low-lying areas across the district.