Heavy overnight rainfall in Tamil Nadu’s Nilgiris and Coimbatore districts triggered landslides at multiple locations, killing a government bus driver, injuring a conductor, washing away a house in Barliyar village and disrupting road traffic, with landslides reported at more than 10 locations along the Coonoor-Mettupalayam National Highway.
Heavy rainfall in the Barliyar village area also washed away a house, leaving its residents devastated after they lost their home and belongings. Disaster response teams, fire and rescue personnel, and highways department officials are engaged in clearing mud, stones, boulders and fallen trees from the roads and restoring connectivity. We have been clearing these since morning and have also issued an advisory to the public to avoid using these roads unless it is for emergency purposes,” the District Collector added. The District Collector added that passengers stranded in buses and other vehicles had been evacuated and shifted to camps in the Coonoor area. Basic facilities, including food, are being arranged for them while they wait for weather conditions to improve. Moreover, a government bus driver, identified as Janakaraj, died after the landslide struck the Mettupalayam-Ooty road near Barliyar following heavy rainfall. The bus conductor, Kesavan, sustained injuries and was rescued after a prolonged operation. He was admitted to Mettupalayam Government Hospital for treatment. The landslide, triggered by the heavy rainfall, sent rocks, trees and mud crashing onto the bus. The goods vehicle carrying chickens, which was parked nearby, was also caught in the landslide and swept into a gorge. The occupants, however, managed to escape unharmed.
The continuous rainfall on Friday night triggered landslides and uprooted trees at several locations along the highway, bringing traffic on the affected stretch to a complete halt. Speaking to ANI, District Collector Lakshmi Bhavya Tanneeru said, “Heavy rainfall on Friday evening had caused landslips at several locations across the district, particularly along the Coonoor-Mettupalayam highway. Clearance operations began on Saturday morning, and the district administration issued an advisory asking the public to avoid travelling on the affected roads unless it was an emergency. “We had heavy rainfall in Nilgiris district yesterday evening, and there were landslips at various places, especially all across the Coonoor-Mettupalayam highway.
