Tamil Nadu Rain: The first week of northeast monsoon led to a heavy downpour in Chennai. (AFP)
Highlights
- 74 per cent of rain recorded in the first week of northeast monsoon
- 105 relief camps have been set up in Chennai
- Chief Minister E Palaniswami visited water-logged areas in Chennai
More than 10,000 people took shelter in over 100 relief camps set up in Chennai and other parts of coastal Tamil Nadu after the northeast monsoon intensified, the state government said. Chennai received heavy rainfall this morning after last night's downpour. Schools in the city and other coastal towns will remain closed for the fifth day. The weather office has warned of intermittent heavy rain in coastal Tamil Nadu for today as well. Forecasters said 74 per cent of rain was recorded in just the first week since the northeast monsoon arrived. Between Thursday evening and Friday morning, parts of Chennai received as much as 140 mm of rain. Although most of the water-logging has been cleared in Chennai, low-lying areas of the capital continue to be water-logged.
Here are the top 10 updates on Chennai rain:
On Friday, Chief Minister E Palaniswami, along with deputy O Panneerslevam, visited several water-logged parts of Chennai and its suburbs. The Chief Minister insisted that his government was working on a "war-footing".
105 relief camps have been set up in Chennai, a Tamil Nadu government release said.
Schools in Chennai, Kancheepuram and Tiruvallur have been closed since Tuesday. Power supply was suspended in inundated areas such as parts of MKB Nagar in north Chennai, pockets of Madipakkam in south Chennai and Karapakkam off Porur in western Chennai to ensure safety.
60 patients at a government hospital in south Chennai's Tambaram had to be moved to the first floor in the middle of the night after the ground floor was flooded. The hospital was under almost five feet of water in December 2015.
Two children were electrocuted in Chennai rain earlier this week. A farmer was electrocuted in Thiruvarur in southern Tamil Nadu on Friday.
The downpour has triggered fears of the 2015 deluge in Tamil Nadu that left hundreds of people dead and lakhs homeless. A top officer overseeing the relief work said the existing stormwater drains couldn't the heavy downpour on Thursday. "Desilting of the lakes in Chennai is not complete yet. Desilting issue not the reason for flooding this time," Dr K Satyagopal, State Relief Commissioner, told NDTV.
Flight operations at the Chennai airport are normal, officials said. Water-logging affected traffic movement and a "signalling snag" partially hit train services between St Thomas Mount and Kodambakkam suburban section on Friday night. Train services after about an hour.
The popular Marina Beach in the heart of Chennai, the longest in the country, was water-logged on Friday, with the beach front hardly visible.
The Madras High Court, on Friday, directed the Chennai civic body to file a detailed status report on the steps various steps taken to prevent water-logging.
The coastal district of Nagapattinam, 318 kms from Chennai, continued to suffer monsoon fury, with incessant rains submerging houses and affecting standing crops over thousands of hectares.
Chennai civic body was asked by the High Court to file a report on steps to prevent water-logging. (AFP)