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Heavy rains lash Chennai, 3 killed; IMD sounds red alert
The weather stations in Chennai’s MRC Nagar and Nungambakkam recorded 200 mm and 160 mm of rainfall in a span of a few hours up to 8 pm, according to IMD.
Three people died after sudden heavy rains lashed Chennai on Thursday flooding several parts of the city, a Tamil Nadu minister and officials said.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued a red alert for Chennai and three adjoining districts following the downpour that came after record-breaking rains crippled the capital in November.
The weather stations in Chennai’s MRC Nagar and Nungambakkam recorded 200 mm and 160 mm of rainfall in a span of a few hours up to 8 pm, according to IMD. For December, this is the highest rainfall recorded within 24 hours after 110 mm was recorded on December 13, 2016. The all-time record for December in Chennai, according to IMD’s data, is 290 mm recorded on December 2, 2015.
“All of them (three) died due to electrocution,” minister for disaster management KKSSR Ramachandran told a press conference in Chennai. The minister requested people not to step out in the night, assuring that the situation will improve by Friday morning. The deceased included a 70-year-old woman, a 40-year-old woman and a 13-year-old boy, all from Chennai.
The minister said that nature’s fury was more than what was anticipated but authorities of the four affected districts began working instantly. “Shelters are open and people can move there to avoid any mishap and Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) is also evacuating people from flood-prone areas,” the minister said.
GCC commissioner Gagandeep Singh Bedi said heavy duty pumps were being used across the city to drain out water. “Over 145 pumps are running and installation of pumps in process at other places also,” Bedi said.
Thursday’s rains inundated localities, such as T Nagar, Ashok Nagar and Anna Nagar, among others. “This was our situation when the first heavy spell occurred on November 7 and our situation is the same now,” said V S Narayanasamy, a resident of Motilal Street in T Nagar. The water levels here submerged half the height of their two-wheelers and entered the ground-floor homes in the apartment. The rains brought traffic to a standstill. Four subways were closed in the city. Visuals showed a white car floating in the Madley subway near T Nagar.
Chennai’s MetroRail extended services by an hour from 11:00 pm to 12:00 am as commuters got stuck on roads for hours due to the heavy rain.
Weather models had not forecast the rains. The IMD on Thursday evening issued a heavy-to-very heavy rainfall warning for Chennai and its adjoining districts of Tiruvallur, Kancheepuram and Chengalpattu.
“Convective cells present over Chennai, Tiruvallur, Kanchipuram and Chengalpattu districts are likely to cause significant rain spells in these districts during the next 3 hours,” the IMD said in its statement. The weather department has forecast heavy rain likely to occur at isolated places in Cuddalore, Villupuram and Mayiladuthurai districts and moderate rain at many places in the rest of the coastal districts on December 31 and January 1.
“It is apt to call it a cloudburst,” said independent weather watcher and blogger, Pradeep John, who goes by the moniker Tamil Nadu Weatherman. “One of the craziest spells of (a) lifetime. Though I expected rain today in the city, what happened today was a completely freak event and some crazy stuff. This has never happened in the 15 years and has caught us all by surprise. We have seen a 5 mm forecast giving 50 mm rains but not 200 mm rains.”
