Parts of Tamil Nadu put on alert as rains lash Chennai – Hindustan Times

The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) on Monday issued a yellow alert in several districts of Tamil Nadu after heavy rains lashed parts of the state, especially in Chennai, where it resulted in waterlogging.

Chennai witnessed a sudden spell of heavy rainfall in some parts, such as T Nagar, which got 20 mm of rain in a few hours, continuing the woes of the capital city, which has been receiving excess rainfall since November 1.

After the rains, the IMD has issued a yellow alert for districts such as Salem, Villupuram, Vellore for heavy rains for the next three days. Some parts of north Chennai such as suburban Manali was already been underwater since Sunday due to the heavy rains in Andhra Pradesh, so excess water from the Kosasthalaiyar River was discharged.

Though the city went back to being sunny, the sudden showers were unpredicted. Some parts of the city registered 20 mm of rainfall, while others registered 10 mm of rain, according to the government bulletin, which caused instant flooding, with the municipal authorities deploying boats to rescue people from gushing rainwater.

No deaths were reported. However, the wall of a balcony in a two-storey house collapsed in Perambur in north Chennai to the rains and fire personnel rescued 11 residents from the building.

Residents complained of severe waterlogging in T Nagar, and commuters were caught off guard and were stuck in a traffic log jam for more than an hour here.

“This morning between 3 and 5am there was heavy rain. And again after 8am. The whole place is flooded and sewage water is also mixed in some areas so the stench is unbearable. There was no forecast so no one was prepared for these rains. Only two days ago we restored our power connection in our apartment and now again we are flooded,” said V S Jayaraman, a resident of T Nagar. “Everything is a mess.”

“T Nagar was looking like a beach,” said a commuter K Sridharan, who takes the route to his office every day. “What takes me 20 minutes took me more than one hour today.”

“These sudden spells were caused due to a circulation in Andaman,” said N Puviarasan, deputy director, Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC) Chennai. “This extended up to coastal Tamil Nadu,” he said.

Former deputy director of IMD, YEA Raj, said that this phenomenon of certain parts of the city receiving heavy rains such as Monday is not alarming but a common phenomenon. “The rain clouds that have been over T Nagar may disperse rains and the situation may not be the same even 4 km away in Adyar,” said Raj.

“In Chennai, during June-July, the rains develop due to afternoon thunderstorm activity, whereas north east monsoon activities happen between 3 am to 8 am when the temperature is colder and leads to cloud development. So some parts may receive rain while other parts of the city could be dry.”

“T Nagar got isolated special spells of 20mm till 8.30 am,” said weather blogger Pradeep John in his social media accounts.

A six-member central team from New Delhireached Chennai on Sundayand will be inspecting They will be inspecting Chennai, Chengalpattu and Kancheepuram on Monday. A statement from the Greater Chennai Corporation said that the team already inspected six wards in the city.

Tamil Nadu has sought more than ₹2000 crores as central aid to restore rain-related damages across the state. The RMC forecast heavy rains in different parts of the state in the next three days.

“Thunderstorm with heavy rain is likely to occur at isolated places over Tirunelveli, Thoothukudi, Madurai and Ramanathapuram districts of Tamil Nadu. Moderate rain is likely to occur at many places over districts of coastal and south Tamil Nadu, Puducherry & Karaikal. Light to moderate rain is likely to occur at isolated places over rest districts,” the RMC said in a bulletin. For Chennai, in the next 24 to 48 hours, RMC says light to moderate rain is likely to occur in some areas.

Chennai just began picking up the pieces after being battered by two heavy spells between November 6 and 7 and on November 11 when Chennai received 21 cm and 16 cm respectively. The city and overall Tamil Nadu have received excess rainfall during this north east monsoon season that runs from October to December. From October 1 to November 18, Chennai and Tamil Nadu received 66% and 61% of excess rainfall.