Monsoon pangs leave Chennai drenched
Water-logging, power failure and traffic snarls hit Chennaiites
By : DC Correspondent
Update: 2015-11-01 05:40 GMT
Chennai: A heavy shower that lasted nearly half-an-hour on Saturday threw city traffic out of gear due to water stagnation. Power supply was also affected in several areas. Flood water engulfed NSC Bose Road-Prakasam Salai junction and traffic police had to alert motorists, while standing in knee deep water. The Esplanade police station abutting Madras
high court was inundated.
Elsewhere, Anna Nagar, T Nagar, Kodambakkam, Nungambakkam, Guindy and Velachery are among places where water stagnation completely curtailed traffic movement. Traffic came to a standstill on Jawaharlal Nehru Salai at Koyambedu junction towards Anna Nagar as motorists stopped their vehicles and took refuge under the grade separator, as the shower picked up intensity quickly.
The Nungambakkam subway filled up enough to sink an auto-rickshaw within half hour of rain. A statement from Chennai corporation on Friday said the local body had 160 pumps on
standby.
However, officials said stagnation was only during the rain. “To help drain water quickly, we have increased the size of chute pipes in storm water drains. Meanwhile, power cuts were also reported for at least half an hour in several areas. P. Dharini, a resident of Nanganallur, said there was no power supply in the area for 20 minutes when the rain was heavy. MTC services were also hit as several buses were caught in traffic snarls.
Heavy rains forecast for interior TN
Isolated heavy rain may occur over interior Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Lakshadweep, coastal and south interior Karnataka for the next 24 hours with an increase in rainfall for the next two days, the Regional Meteorological Centre here said. However for Chennai, it will be generally cloudy. Rain or thundershower will occur in some area for the next 48 hours, the weather office said.
The weather office also advised fishermen to be cautious while venturing into the sea as strong winds from southerly to southwesterly direction with speed reaching 45-55 kmph is likely along South Tamil Nadu coast. Poondi, Cholavaram, Red Hills and Chembarambakkam reservoirs received good rainfall. However, there was no major inflow into the reservoirs as the total storage stood at a meagre 314 mcft against the total capacity of 11057 mcft.
In a respite to water parched Chennai, places including Tiruttani and Kancheepuram that serve as catchment areas for city reservoirs, also received heavy rain on Saturday. According to a weather bulletin Srivaikuntam, Papanasam, Tuticorin, Colachel, Kuzhithurai, Ponneri, Pechiparai, Tambaram, Palayamkottai, Pattukottai, Kolli dam, Kanyakumari town and, Nanguneri in Tirunelveli district received good rain.
Suburbs including Chingleput, Tambaram, Ennore, Tiruvottiyur, Madhavaram, Redhills and Ernavur also received good rain. Traffic was disrupted. There was no disruption in operation of flight and trains. Bloggers with KeaWeather.org, said the automatic weather data says Nungambakkam received 51 mm, Poonamallee 46 mm, Taramani 41 mm, Anna University 39 mm and Chandrambakkam 16 mm rainfall.
Weather enthusiast Gokul said the monsoon has slightly improved because there is an upper air circulation over Lakshadweep and extended till North of Bay of Bengal, which is bringing rain along the coast of Tamil Nadu.
Also, European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasting (ECMWF) and Global Forecast System (GFS) models show an interaction between Lakshadweep system and western disturbance over North India. However, this system is expected to weaken in another two days, which means the clouds may also disappear, he said.