A short spell leaves Chennai streets under water – The Hindu

Chennai News

The city experienced heavy rain, accompanied by loud thunder and lightning, for a couple of hours on Wednesday.

While the rain provided a respite from the high temperature this month, it caused flooding and waterlogging in some areas and affected the flow of traffic. The rain tested the steps the Greater Chennai Corporation has taken in preparation for the northeast monsoon.  

A cyclonic circulation over the west central Bay of Bengal off the Andhra Pradesh coast triggered the rain, which was intense in some parts of Chennai. The rain gauge at the YMCA, Nandanam, recorded nearly 6 cm till 5.30 p.m. Many other places, including MRC Nagar, Chembarambakkam and Taramani (4 cm each); Nungambakkam, Anna University and Tiruvallur (3 cm each); and Meenambakkam and NIOT, Pallikaranai, recorded (2 cm each). 

The trenches dug along Dr.Ambedkar College Road in Pulianthope were filled with rainwater. 
| Photo Credit: B. Jothiramalingam

S. Balachandran, Deputy Director-General of Meteorology, Chennai, said thunderstorms revived over various parts of the State after a prolonged dry spell from September 9 to 25, when the day temperature rose above the average in several areas. The southwest monsoon was yet to withdraw from the Tamil Nadu region, he said. The weather system over the Bay of Bengal would influence rainfall till the week-end. Chennai, too, has chances of thunderstorms till Friday morning.

One another cyclonic circulation is likely to emerge over the northeast Bay of Bengal around Saturday. He said its impact over the State was being monitored. According to the department, northern districts, including Tiruvallur, Chengalpattu and Vellore, could experience isolated heavy rainfall on Thursday. The State has so far received nearly 47.3 cm of rain, which is nearly 49% in excess, for the season since June 1.  

Road work hamper movement

The Metro Rail and storm water drain work, under way across the city, has exacerbated the effects of the short spell of rain. A resident of Devi Parasakthi Nagar at Porur said water had gathered around Metro Rail work areas and uneven parts of the road, hampering her travel.

“All of our roads have the ongoing storm water drain work, which is half-done, and when it rained, this severely limited the flow of vehicles,” said C. Ramakrishnan, president, FEDERA.

A long-time resident of Nadu Street at Mylapore said that over the years, the streets surrounding the Kapaliswarar temple had lost their capacity to drain the rainwater. “Streets at Mylapore do not afford much space to cars. It is made worse by the combination of the Navarathri season and the rainfall,” he said.  

In some cases, the streets are flooded within minutes of the start of the rain. A Corporation official said a motor pump was on stand-by to clear streets, if need be. The Corporation has directed its contractors to complete the remaining work on the storm water drains in the next fortnight. To review the situation better, zonal officials have been instructed to send videos of water flowing into the drains. 

Vegetable prices

Meanwhile, the cost of most vegetables remains stable in the Koyambedu market, except for a few like carrots. Wholesale traders said carrots from Udhagamandalam went for ₹90 a kg as arrivals had come down owing to the rain. 

Source: https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/chennai/chen-social/the-effects-of-a-few-hours-of-rain-in-chennai/article65947507.ece