Five die as heavy rains batter Chennai and neighbouring districts in Tamil Nadu for second consecutive day

The rains in Tamil Nadu played havoc for second consecutive day as schools in Chennai, Kanchipuram and Tiruvallur districts were closed.

Schools in these districts were closed on Tuesday owing to rains on Monday. However, reports said that there was no rain during the day on Tuesday. Nevertheless the district administrations declared holidays due to water logging in the schools.

The weather department has predicted rain or thundershowers at most places over coastal Tamil Nadu and Puducherry and at many places over interior Tamil Nadu for the next four days.

Speaking to Firstpost , S Balachandran, Director of the Area Cyclone Warning Centre, IMD Chennai, on Tuesday said, “Coastal areas and central regions of Tamil Nadu will experience heavy rainfall with varying intensities in the next 24 hours. However, the western parts of the state like Coimbatore, the Nilgiris and Valaparai will experience light rainfall, which will start from Tuesday evening.”

Widespread rains were forecast for Tamil Nadu for the next 24 hours though there was some respite on Tuesday for Chennai and neighbouring districts, a day after the Northeast Monsoon dumped heavy showers leaving five persons dead and disrupting life in several areas due to waterlogging.

Officials said four persons died in rain-related incidents in different places since last evening taking the toll to five. One person was killed in a wall collapse in Thanjavur district on Monday.

Two persons died in suburban Anakaputhur on Monday night after being struck by lightning while two others died in rain related incidents at Cuddalore and Nagapattinam districts, official sources told PTI.

The Met department has forecast widespread rain or thundershowers with scattered heavy to very heavy falls in coastal areas in the next 24 hours due to the vigorous monsoon, which set in over the state last week.

The upper air cyclonic circulation over Southwest Bay of Bengal near Sri Lanka moved westward and was now positioned over Gulf of Munnar, Director of the Area Cyclone Warning Centre, S Balachandran told reporters.

He said that in the last 24 hours ending 8.30 am today, both Tamil Nadu and Puducherry witnessed widespread heavy rains with Seerkazhi in Nagapattinam District in the Cauvery delta region recording the highest of 31 cm.

In Chennai, Nungambakkam weather station recorded 12 cm rainfall while Meenambakkam Airport 17 cm.

Neighbouring Kancheepuram and Tiruvallur recorded over 10 cm of rain during the period as the state witnessed its first intense spell of the monsoon rains yesterday.

Normal life in localities such as Vyasarpadi, Otteri, Tiruvotriyur in the North and Velachery, Madipakkam and Mudichur in the Southern parts of the Chennai was disrupted by the impact caused by overnight rains.

Though schools remained closed in Chennai and several other districts in expectation of heavy showers, there was a lull in rain here since this morning. The sky largely remained overcast and some areas saw brief spells of sunshine.

Two-wheeler riders and pedestrians were affected the most due to waterlogging. Civic authorities said action was being taken to clear inundation by using water-pumps.

Intermittent spells of rain, however, continued in various other coastal districts, including Cuddalore, Nagapattinam, Thanjavur and Tiruvarur.

Desilting work was on in the Adyar rivermouth and in several other locations of the river in Chennai, including Egmore, authorities said.

As part of measures to prevent flooding during monsoon, encroachements were removed near water-courses, Local Administration Minister S P Velumani said.

When reporters posed a volley of questions on waterlogging in several parts of Chennai, the minister said the number of such locations had come down to 49 from 1,490 some years ago.

He claimed that before 2011 (pre-AIADMK regime), it would take at least 15 days for water to recede but it was not the case now. Only due to action that was initiated, the locations where water stagnated had decreased, he said.

Locations that see waterlogging will be cleared on Tuesday, he said and went on to add that such problems existed in several cities, including in developed nation. “Bengaluru witnessed rains… it was said that London and America floated due to rains, we have taken steps that were not taken even in developed nations,” he said. Velumani said late Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa had procured all necessary equipment to tackle the situation and added that action was being taken and it “has won appreciation.”

With inputs from agencies