Tamil Nadu rains: Man dies in house collapse in Ooty

A house at Nondimedu in Udhagamandalam collapsed, killing its 45-year-old resident, amid heavy rains on the intervening night of Sunday and Monday
| Photo Credit: M. Sathyamoorthy

A 45-year-old man died after his house collapsed on him amid heavy rains at Nondimedu in Udhagamandalam on the intervening night of Sunday (December 1, 2024) and Monday (December 2, 2024).

According to the police, heavy rains in the Nilgiris had weakened the structure, which collapsed on Arumugam. His relatives who lived nearby got to know of the incident only on Monday morning. They then alerted the police.

As ambulances and first responders were unable to reach the spot due to a lack of proper roads to the area, local residents retrieved his body and brought it to the nearest accessible spot, from where it was taken to a government hospital for postmortem examination. The police as well as Revenue Department officials reached the spot on Monday to conduct a probe into the incident.

Schools, colleges shut

Heavy rains were reported in Udhagamandalam, Gudalur, and Kotagiri, with an average of 23.72 mm rainfall recorded throughout the district till Monday morning. Due to the heavy rains, schools and colleges in Udhagamandalam, Gudalur, and Kotagiri were ordered to be closed by the Nilgiris district collector, Lakshmi Bhavya Tanneeru.

The Salem division of Southern Railways also confirmed that Nilgiri Mountain Railway (NMR) train services were cancelled till Wednesday (December 3) due to the inclement weather.

Officials from the Tourism Department said that tourist footfall during the weekend had seen a substantial decrease due to poor visibility in the hills and short spells of rain. The Nilgiris district administration stated that temporary relief shelters were in a state of preparedness to house any number of people or communities that could be at risk from emergencies that arise out of the continuing rains.