The govt. has started releasing 20,000 cubic feet per second of water from Chembarambakkam reservoir, the highest volume of outflow in several years.
Heavy rains today pounded several parts of Tamil Nadu and inundating most areas of Chennai, severely disrupting flights, train and bus services and forcing postponment of half—yearly school exams even as the state braced for more showers in next four days.
As the death toll in rain—related incidents touched 188, Chief Minister Jayalalithaaa reviewed the situation and deputed ministers to inspect the affected regions.
Half—yearly exams in schools, which were to have begun on December 7, were postponed. Schools were closed today and will remain shut tomorrow as well.
Flight operations also took a hit due to rains. Airport officials said one flight, which had left Colombo this morning, returned.
Motorists had a tough time as not only arterial roads like Anna Salai and, GST Road were inundated but also many interior roads. Also, many roads were damaged, with several of them caving in inconveniencing motorists.
Puducherry and its suburbs continued to be lashed by heavy rains since last night and it recorded 15.2 cm rain in the last 24 hours ending 0830 hours today.
Chennai deluged
Chennai City seems to be heading for a crisis of sorts as the government has started releasing 20,000 cubic feet per second of water from Chembarambakkam reservoir into Adyar. This is the highest volume of outflow from the reservoir in several years. On November 17, a day after the city received over 25 centimetres of rainfall, Public Works Department released 18,000 cusecs of water from the reservoir.
Chennai Collector E. Sundaravalli has issued a flood warning and appealed to families living along the Adyar river to move to safer places. Earlier in the day, it was increased to 5,000 cubic feet per second. The outflow was just 900 cusecs on Monday evening.
Helpline numbers:
Tree fall, Waterlogging 1913
Sewage overflow 45674567, 22200335
State Emergency 1070
District Emergency 1077
Electricity 1912
Fire & Rescue – 101
After pounding and battering the city for a month, heavy rains resumed overnight on Monday after a brief break for four days. For the 24 hours ending 8.30 a.m. on Tuesday, the rainfall level recorded in the city was 3 centimetres. Between morning and noon, the city received more than 8 centimetres, officials said.
Suburban train services on the Chennai Beach-Tambaram sector were crippled. Services on the Chennai Central-Tiruvallur sector were also disrupted. Arterial roads were flooded and traffic was affected.
Expect more rain
Heavy rains lashed parts of Tamil Nadu, including Chennai, and neighbouring Puducherry, disrupting flight movement and leaving several areas inundated.
The picture looks no better for Wednesday with the weather office forecasting heavy to very heavy rainfall for Tamil Nadu, especially over the northern districts of Chennai, Tiruvallur and Kancheepuram.
It also forecast heavy rains for Puducherry.
“The trough of low pressure now lies over Southwest Bay adjoining Sri Lanka off Tamil Nadu,” officials at the Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC) told PTI.
Under its influence, widespread rains are expected across the State on Wednesday, with the possibility of “scattered heavy to isolated very heavy rainfall over coastal districts,” they said.
The weather office forecast “isolated extremely heavy rainfall” for Chennai, Kancheepuram and Tiruvallur which have been already been facing the brunt of the northeast monsoon since last month.
Schools, colleges shut
A holiday has been declared on Tuesday for educational institutions in these districts, which have been experiencing heavy downpour, officials said.
A holiday has been declared on Tuesday for educational institutions in these districts, which have been experiencing heavy downpour, officials said.
In Chennai, office-goers found it tough to make it to their workplaces on time with the incessant rains resulting in water-logging in several areas. Many of them opted to travel by state government buses, suburban train services and Metro Rail.
Some Dos and Don’ts while driving in the rains
Most roads were left in a damaged state, with motorists finding it hard to negotiate potholes.
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