Oct 16, 2024 01:17 AM IST
Intermittent, widespread rains lashed Chennai and other parts of Tamil Nadu on Tuesday, bringing residential neighbourhoods and roads under knee-deep water
Intermittent, widespread rains lashed Chennai and other parts of Tamil Nadu on Tuesday, bringing residential neighbourhoods and roads under knee-deep water and leading to traffic congestion besides affecting public transport services.
While bus services were affected in several areas, Southern Railway announced cancellation of four express trains including the Chennai Central-Mysuru Kaveri Express due to waterlogging. Several domestic flights were cancelled as sufficient number of passengers did not turn up to avail services.
According to the India Meteorological Department bulletin, the city received 125mm (recorded in the Nungambakkam station) of rainfall on Tuesday, even as the weather department forecast more rains for the next two days in the state.
The IMD bulletin said that on October 16, “heavy to very heavy rain with extremely heavy rain at one or two places is likely to occur over Tiruvallur, Kancheepuram, Chengalpattu and Chennai districts”.
ALSO READ- ‘Developed India will be free from terrorism, drugs by 2047’: Amit Shah
Experts have attributed the heavy rainfall to two weather systems: a well-marked low-pressure area over south Bay of Bengal and a depression over west central Arabian Sea off Oman coast.
“It (the low pressure) is likely to move west-northwestwards and intensify into a depression over southwest Bay of Bengal during next 24 hours,” said the Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC) in Chennai.
While the cyclonic circulation over Bay of Bengal off the south of Andhra Pradesh coast persists, a trough from the depression “is likely to continue to move west-north westwards towards north Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and adjoining south Andhra Pradesh coasts during subsequent 24 hours,” the RMC said.
ALSO READ- Baba Siddique’s shooters used Instagram, Snapchat to communicate, say police
South west monsoon has withdrawn from the entire country and the north east monsoon has begun, said RMC’s director, S Balachandran. The northeast monsoon brings an average of 450mm rain to Tamil Nadu which is 48% of its annual rainfall, and average of 870mm to Chennai which is 63% of the annual rainfall for the capital city.
Chief minister MK Stalin, along with state ministers, inspected work to drain rain water in flood prone localities and took civic workers to a tea shop and bought them tea and biscuits and also had tea with them.
Stalin hailed the services of sanitary/civic workers and officials notwithstanding heavy rains and said he will stand shoulder to shoulder with the frontline workers.
ALSO READ- Canada’s leadership says working with Five Eyes partners on Nijjar investigation
Deputy chief minister Udhayanidhi Stalin inspected several localities, including the Narayanapuram lake near Velachery and authorities said the surplus rain from the lake water drains into channels due to advance desilting work.
The government, in an advisory, asked private establishments to facilitate work from home.
Civic authorities said trees that fell were removed then and there and water logging is being cleared by pumping out water into stormwater drains.
Heavy-duty motors mounted on tractors have been deployed to clear waterlogging. Boats have also been stationed in vulnerable areas.Greater Chennai Corporation announced a helpline number 1913.
A holiday had been declared for schools and colleges on October 15 and the government requested people to check the TN Alert App for weather updates.
Get Current Updates on…
See more
