Water-logging and traffic jams were witnessed in many parts of Chennai after heavy rain on Tuesday.
With the northeast monsoon hitting the southern coast and heavy rain lashing coastal Tamil Nadu, a minister has said his state is better at managing the rain as compared to the United States and the United Kingdom.
Tamil Nadu's Municipal Administration Minister SP Velumani said on Tuesday, "It rained in Bengaluru recently, earlier it rained in the UK and US and we were told it was flooded everywhere. It shows our action is better than those of developed countries".
Schools in Chennai and other several coastal Tamil Nadu districts are shut for the second day today after the meteorological office warned of heavy rain in the region.
Overnight rain of upto 4 cm, that lasted till 5:30 this morning, was recorded.
Schools are shut today in Kancheepuram, Nagapattinam, Tiruvallur and seven taluks of Cuddalore. Colleges, however, will remain open.
On Tuesday, a woman died in Cuddalore, 190 km from Chennai, after a wall of her home collapsed.
While the capital city has remained largely free of water-logging, many suburbs faced water-logging with traffic jams reported on Tuesday following the downpour. Weather forecasters said the heavy spell could continue for another two days.
Many residents fear that the heavy downpour could lead to a repeat of the 2015 floods in the state that killed at least 150 people. That year, Chennai was inundated after the heaviest rainfall in over a century.
D Jayakumar, Fisheries Minister, said on Tuesday that there is no need to worry as the government is prepared. "We have the capacity to handle the situation like the foreign countries. We are prepared," he said.