CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu has received 56 percent above the normal rainfall between October 1 and November 12, said Revenue Minister KKSSR Ramachandran. He expressed confidence that in parts of Chennai flooded by the rains, normalcy would be restored by Saturday as the works on pumping out stagnant water are going on in full swing.
Addressing a press conference here, Ramachandran said that works on pumping out stagnant water are going on in 411 places while water has been cleared in 119 places. In 15 subways, traffic has been restored by removing the water and works are on to evacuate water from seven more subways. Of the 529 trees that fell during the rains, 521 have been removed from causing hindrance to traffic.
Ramachandran noted that during the period between October 1 and November 12, the state has received 416.5 mm of rain. This is 56 percent above the normal rainfall of 266.3mm. During the past 24 hours, the State had received 17.5 mm of rain, and Kanyakumari district received the highest rainfall of 77.21 mm.
The Minister claimed that during the 2015 rainfall, 174 persons died in rain-related incidents since the water was released from reservoirs at midnight. Now, during the current spell of rain for the past few days, only 18 persons died in rain-related incidents across Tamil Nadu.
However, a quick google search shows that the 120 cm of rainfall Chennai received in November 2015 is reported to be the highest for a month in 100 years as the average rainfall for November is a little over 40 cm.
Meanwhile, Ramachandran reminded that for 24-hours from 8.30 am on November 6, Chennai received 210 mm of rainfall, according to the Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC).
“This is also the highest amount of rainfall recorded in a single day in Chennai since 2015" (when it rained 494 mm on December 1)
Ramachandran recalled that during the 2015 floods, 2,215 cattle died but during the past few days of heavy rains, only 834 cattle have lost their lives. During the 2015 floods, 31,451 huts were destroyed. Now, only 2,284 huts have been damaged. The comparatively less loss of human lives, cattle, huts etc was due to the enormous precautionary steps taken by Chief Minister MK Stalin.
He further said that since the release of water from water resources around Chennai was regulated this year overflowing of rainwater on watercourses has been avoided.
The Minister pointed out that since the release of water from water resources around Chennai was regulated this year overflowing of rainwater on watercourses has been avoided.
During the current rainy season also, the government has learned certain lessons and in the next rainy season, steps would be taken to prevent these problems. For example, main roads have no water stagnation now. But the interior areas have water stagnation. Such places would be identified and this problem would be fixed soon.
In Chennai alone, 2,699 persons have been given shelter in 44 relief camps. A total of 14,135 persons have been sheltered in 259 relief camps across Tamil Nadu.
The quantum of water being released from various water resources is as follows: Mettur dam (14,569 cusecs), Bhavanisagar dam (1,400 cusecs), Vaigai dam (2,069 cusecs), Red Hills reservoir (3,218 cusecs), Chembarambakkam reservoir (2,146 cusecs), Poondi reservoir (15,000 cusecs), Chozhavaram reservoir (2,515 cusecs) and Veeranam lake (1,321 cusecs).