Chennai logs wettest November with record rainfall of 882.4 mm – Hindustan Times

This November has been one of the wettest for Chennai which has recorded rainfall of 882.4 mm up to November 28 even as incessant rains in the past three days led to the city being inundated putting its residents through tremendous strain.

According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD) the all-time record for the month of November is from 1918 when Chennai received 1088.4 mm of rain. In the past decade, it was in November 2015, that Chennai received record rainfall of 1049 mm and in December the city went through the catastrophic floods.

The northeast monsoon from October to December is when Tamil Nadu receives most of its rainfall and since the monsoon set in late this year, in October, Chennai received 215 mm of rainfall which was a deficit by 22%. However, in the following month, the rainfall picked up and has now resulted in Chennai recording 79% excess rainfall having received a total of 1097.6 mm from October 1 up to November 28.

“In November alone, till now we have received 882.4 mm rainfall,” said S Balachandar, head, Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC) in Chennai adding that the weathermen were unsure if Chennai would cross the 100 cm rainfall milestone with just two days left for November to end.

Chief minister M K Stalin who has been inspecting flood-affected areas in Chennai and its neighbouring districts since Saturday tweeted that meteorologists say that this is the fourth highest rainfall in a single month and that it was vital to prevent loss of life and property. Independent weather blogger Pradeep John who tracks the rain in Tamil Nadu as per his calculations which adifferent from that of the RMC said that Chennai recorded 1003 mm until 7.30 pm in November.

Rains batter Chennai

However the intensity of the rains has paralysed the capital city, its adjoining districts of Chengalpattu, Thiruvallur and Kancheepuram and other districts. In the last 24-hours two people have died from the districts of Cuddalore and Thoothukudi, the disaster management department said in a statement. As many as 15,016 people have been evacuated from low lying areas and accommodated in relief camps. Since heavy rains began in the first week of November, crops spread over 50,000 hectares in Tamil Nadu’s delta districts have been damaged.

The IMD on Friday issued a red alert for all the coastal districts of Tamil Nadu including Chennai. Overall, Tamil Nadu has received 76% excess rainfall this monsoon season. “Almost all districts except Madurai and Virudhunagar have received excess to large excess rainfall,” the IMD said in a bulletin. Up to 5.30 pm on November 28, Meenambakkam in Chennai received 55mm rainfall, Cuddalore (70mm), Tiruchenduri in Thoothukudi (11mm), Cheyyur in Chengalpattu district received 19mm.

Boats were back on Chennai roads for rescue and relief operations in suburban localities such as Perumbakkam and Pallikaranai. The Greater Chennai Corporation increased its capacity of heavy duty motor pumps from 750 to 850 on Sunday to drain excess water. Traffic was diverted in several areas as roads had to be blocked due to water logging. Water was more than knee-deep in some residential localities.

A holiday has been declared for schools in Chennai, Thiruvallur and several other districts for Monday due to the rains as the IMD has forecast heavy rainfall for Chennai in the next 24-hours and heavy to very heavy rain at isolated places over Kanyakumari and Tirunelveli districts and heavy rain over Thoothukudi and Ramanathapuram districts. Thunderstorms with moderate rain are likely to occur at most places over rest Coastal Tamil Nadu.