StatesTamil Nadu
Vijay orders checks on Chennai's flood-prone streets as northeast monsoon turns active
After a Saturday night downpour flooded 35 locations in the city, the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister reviewed rain preparedness at Ripon Building and told departments to step up flood-prevention work before more heavy rain arrives.
Key points
- North Chennai received 6 cm to 10 cm of rain in under an hour on Saturday night.
- Waterlogging was reported at 35 locations across the city.
- The IMD has a yellow alert for 17 districts until 23 October.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay on Sunday told ministers and officials to inspect every part of Chennai that has flooded in past years and to speed up preventive work, after the first strong spell of the northeast monsoon left streets in the north of the city under water.
He chaired a review at the Integrated State Command and Control Centre in the Greater Chennai Corporation’s Ripon Building, with cabinet colleagues and senior officers present. Corporation Commissioner G S Sameeran briefed him on the night’s rainfall, the state of the city’s subways, canals and river mouths, and the rescue and food-distribution work carried out by civic teams.
A night of heavy rain
The worst of it fell on Saturday night. North Chennai received between 6 cm and 10 cm of rain in less than an hour, and waterlogging was reported at 35 places in the city, with traffic held up in several localities. Parrys Corner, Kathivakkam, Manali and Ennore were among the wettest areas.
Elsewhere in the state, Uthiramerur in Kancheepuram district recorded 15 cm and Manalurpet in Kallakurichi 12 cm in the 24 hours up to 5:30 pm on Saturday. The Regional Meteorological Centre and the India Meteorological Department said the northeast monsoon had entered an active phase.
Forecasters linked the rain to an upper-air cyclonic circulation over north Tamil Nadu and coastal Andhra Pradesh and a trough running from Lakshadweep to the southwest Bay of Bengal.
What the Chief Minister asked for
Vijay praised corporation staff and allied departments for their quick response overnight. He then asked departments to work in close coordination and to carry out relief measures diligently, since more warnings of heavy rain were expected. Officials were told to follow the response protocols laid down for flood situations and to hurry precautionary work in Chennai and other parts of the state.
The government’s concern is the run of wet days ahead. The IMD has a yellow alert, which signals heavy rain of 6 cm to 11 cm, in force until 23 October for 17 districts, including Chennai, Tiruvallur, Chengalpattu, Kancheepuram, Cuddalore and Tiruchi.
Widespread rain is also forecast across the delta and the south, from Nagapattinam, Thanjavur and Tiruvarur to Ramanathapuram, Thoothukudi and Tirunelveli, as well as in the Nilgiris and Coimbatore. Puducherry and Karaikal are expected to get rain too.
What happens next
North Chennai bore the initial brunt of this first burst of the season. The inspections Vijay ordered are meant to deal with the city’s known trouble spots before the next heavy spell, while the yellow alert stays in force for the rest of the week.