CHENNAI: Moderate to heavy rain lashed parts of Chennai, Cuddalore, Karaikal, Puducherry, Dindigul, Valparai and Nagapattinam on Monday. In 24 hours ending on Monday afternoon, the state capital received the highest rainfall with Meenambakkam observatory recording 16 cm rain.
From 8:30 am to 5:30 pm on Monday, the Meenambakkam observatory recorded 17.1 mm rain and the Nungambakkam observatory, 25.3 mm. Rainfall over the last two days is among highest recorded during the month of June in the last 27 years in the city.
S Balachandran, head, RMC, Chennai said this was the third highest rainfall in June recorded in the Nungambakkam observatory after 1991 ( 35 cm) and 1996 (19 cm). This is the second highest rainfall recorded in Meenambakkam after 1996 (28 cm).
"We forecast moderate rainfall and thunderstorms on Monday and Tuesday. We also issued timely nowcasts for the authorities concerned to be prepared. However, between 2 am and 6 am on Monday, the city received a heavy spell," Balachandran said.
IMD has forecast moderate rain for Chennai and Tiruvallur on Tuesday. Isolated heavy rain is likely in Chengalpattu, Kancheepuram, Villupuram, Puducherry, Cuddalore, Mayiladuthurai, Nagapattinam, Karaikal, Tiruvarur, Thanjavur, Kallakurichi, Ranipet and Tiruvannamalai.
Despite the heavy rains, Chennai city did not witness much waterlogging, which corporation officials attributed to stormwater drain work undertaken in the last two years.
"We received an alert yesterday of a possible cloudburst or heavy rain and were prepared with our teams. The process of clearing silt catch pits and chutes in stormwater drains had begun early last month in preparation for the monsoon and that also helped in water draining quickly across the city," a corporation official said. Moreover, as the rain followed peak summer, groundwater saturation level would be low, allowing easier infiltration, officials added.
Temporary interventions like pumps weer confined to only a few areas like Ayanavaram, Stephenson road and Ganeshapuram subway.
Minister PK Sekar Babu reviewed the steps taken by the city corporation and metrowater on Monday. He said only the Ganeshapuram subway was inundated and there was no inundation in areas like Kolathur, Jawahar Nagar, Selvi Nagar and Thillai Nagar, which used to be vulnerable.
Train commuters hit
Train commuters from Tiruvallur, Arakkonam and Katpadi faced difficulties on Monday when southern railway cancelled the Chennai - Jolarpettai Express and made changes in the departure of several other trains due to waterlogging on tracks in the Vyasarpadi and Basin Bridge section.
At 10.40 am, the fast up and down railway lines on bridge number 14 between Vyasarpadi and Basin Bridge were submerged. Initially, a few express trains were operated slowly. However, the railways suspended the trains later. This led to the short termination of trains arriving in Chennai from Mysuru, Tirupati, Coimbatore, Mumbai CST and Shimoga town between Avadi and Tiruvallur. As a result, these trains were operated from those two stations on return journey. The Coimbatore Vande Bharat Express and Lokmanya Tilak Express were operated from Chennai Beach instead of Chennai Central. The Chennai Central - Bengaluru Shatabdi Express operated from Avadi.
Due to cancellation of Jolarpettai Express, Arakkonam, Tiruvallur and Pattabiram-bound suburban trains from Chennai suburban terminus were overcrowded. "Efforts are under way to clear the water from the tracks in Vyasarpadi and Basin Bridge," a statement from the Chennai division said.
Flights diverted
As many as 10 flights were diverted from Chennai airport. Flights that were scheduled to arrive from various international destinations including Singapore, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Dubai, Colombo, Muscat, Doha and London were diverted to Bengaluru airport. Several flights to Delhi, Port Blair, Frankfurt, Dubai, London, Abu Dhabi and Muscat were delayed