Heavy rains today pounded several parts of Tamil Nadu and inundating most areas of Chennai, severely disrupting flights, train and bus services and forcing postponment of half-yearly school exams even as the state braced for more showers in next four days.
As the death toll in rain-related incidents touched 188, Chief Minister Jayalalithaaa reviewed the situation and deputed ministers to inspect the affected regions.
Half-yearly exams in schools, which were to have begun on December 7, were postponed. Schools were closed today and will remain shut tomorrow as well.
All flight operations at Chennai airport have been partially suspended until further review and a number of flights have been disrupted as waters inundated the runway and the tarmac. Airport officials said one flight, which had left Colombo this morning, returned. SpiceJet and Indigo tweeted saying the airfield had been closed due to flooding.
Due to heavy rain at Chennai, airfield will remain closed till further notice. Please check your flight status via >>
— IndiGo (@IndiGo6E) >December 1, 2015Motorists had a tough time as not only arterial roads like Anna Salai and, GST Road were inundated but also many interior roads. Also, many roads were damaged, with several of them caving in inconveniencing motorists.
Puducherry and its suburbs continued to be lashed by heavy rains since last night and it recorded 15.2 cm rain in the last 24 hours ending 0830 hours today.
PTI adds...
Two columns of army’s Garrison Infantry Battalion have been pressed into service in Tambaram and Oorapakkam after the Tamil Nadu government sought military assistance. The Navy is also on stand-by.
National Disaster Rescue Force has already dispatched ten teams of which four are already in Chennai and the rest will be flying in tomorrow. “At the same time, we are also requisitioning teams from Bengaluru and Andhra Pradesh,” NDRF chief O P Singh said.
Rescue work will begin and NDRF would deploy more teams if required. Teams carrying boats will also be sent to Kancheepuram and Tiruvallur districts
Chennai deluged
Chennai City seems to be heading for a crisis of sorts as the government has started releasing 20,000 cubic feet per second of water from Chembarambakkam reservoir into Adyar. This is the highest volume of outflow from the reservoir in several years. On November 17, a day after the city received over 25 centimetres of rainfall, Public Works Department released 18,000 cusecs of water from the reservoir.
Chennai Collector E. Sundaravalli has issued a flood warning and appealed to families living along the Adyar river to move to safer places. Earlier in the day, it was increased to 5,000 cubic feet per second. The outflow was just 900 cusecs on Monday evening.
Modi assures support
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has assured the Tamil Nadu government of all support and cooperation. He tweeted:
Spoke to Jayalalithaa ji on the flood situation in parts of Tamil Nadu. Assured all possible support & cooperation in this unfortunate hour.
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) >December 1, 2015
Helpline numbers:
Tree fall, Waterlogging | 1913 |
Sewage overflow | 45674567, 22200335 |
State Emergency | 1070 |
District Emergency | 1077 |
Electricity | 1912 |
Fire & Rescue - | 101 |
After pounding and battering the city for a month, heavy rains resumed overnight on Monday after a brief break for four days. For the 24 hours ending 8.30 a.m. on Tuesday, the rainfall level recorded in the city was 3 centimetres. Between morning and noon, the city received more than 8 centimetres, officials said.
Suburban train services on the Chennai Beach-Tambaram sector were crippled. Services on the Chennai Central-Tiruvallur sector were also disrupted. Arterial roads were flooded and traffic was affected.
Train service between Tambaram and Beach was disrupted due water logging on the tracks. Photo: G.Krishnaswamy Expect more rain
Heavy rains lashed parts of Tamil Nadu, including Chennai, and neighbouring Puducherry, disrupting flight movement and leaving several areas inundated.
The picture looks no better for Wednesday with the weather office forecasting heavy to very heavy rainfall for Tamil Nadu, especially over the northern districts of Chennai, Tiruvallur and Kancheepuram.
It also forecast heavy rains for Puducherry.
“The trough of low pressure now lies over Southwest Bay adjoining Sri Lanka off Tamil Nadu,” officials at the Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC) told PTI .
Under its influence, widespread rains are expected across the State on Wednesday, with the possibility of “scattered heavy to isolated very heavy rainfall over coastal districts,” they said.
The weather office forecast “isolated extremely heavy rainfall” for Chennai, Kancheepuram and Tiruvallur which have been already been facing the brunt of the northeast monsoon since last month.
Schools, colleges shut
A holiday has been declared on Tuesday for educational institutions in these districts, which have been experiencing heavy downpour, officials said.
> In Chennai, office-goers found it tough to make it to their workplaces on time with the incessant rains resulting in water-logging in several areas. Many of them opted to travel by state government buses, suburban train services and Metro Rail.
> Some Dos and Don'ts while driving in the rains
Most roads were left in a damaged state, with motorists finding it hard to negotiate potholes.
Satellite image recorded by INSAT 3D at 1600 hours on Tuesday. At Adyar, >a part of the road near the Madhya Kailash intersection had caved in on Monday, prompting authorities to redirect traffic on the busy stretch.
Flight operations also took a hit due to the inclement weather. Airport officials said one flight, which left Colombo this morning, returned.
Puducherry, which was pounded by rains since last night recorded 15.2 cm rain in the last 24 hours ending 0830 today, disrupting normal life. A holiday was declared for educational institutions.
Suburban services hit
The suburban train services operating between Chennai Beach and Tambaram has been hit due to severe rains in the cities. Suburban trains, which were plying upto Pallavaram, has now been restored upto Tambaram after 3 pm. Train services from Chengalpet and Thirumalpur to Chennai Beach were running slowly, according to railway sources. Chennai Central-Tiruvallur line was disrupted too. MRTS services is functioning normally.
Cancellation of train services
The following 12 trains leaving Chennai Egmore are cancelled today due to water overflowing on Railway Tracks between Villupuram – Tambaram Section.
| Train No | Name of the Train | Scheduled to Departure @ MS |
|---|---|---|
| 12605 | Chennai Egmore-Karaikkudi Pallavan Express | 15.45 |
| 16105 | Chennai Egmore-Tiruchendur Chendur Exp | 16.05 |
| 16713 | Chennai Egmore -Rameswaram Express | 17.00 |
| 16115 | Chennai Egmore-Puducherry Express | 18.10 |
| 12693 | Chennai Egmore-Tuticorin Pearl City Express | 19.15 |
| 12661 | Chennai Egmore-Sengottai Pothigai Express | 20.55 |
| 16101 | Chennai Egmore-Rameswaram Express | 21.40 |
| 16179 | Chennai Egmore-Mannargudi Mannai Express | 22.00 |
| 16177 | Chennai Egmore-Tiruchchirappalli Rockfort Exp | 22.30 |
| 11063 | Chennai Egmore-Salem Express | 23.00 |
| 16175 | Chennai Egmore-Karaikal Express | 23.15 |
| 16183 | Chennai Egmore- Thanjavur Uzhavan Exp | 23.30 |
The following trains are diverted today due to water overflowing on Railway Tracks between Villupuram – Tambaram Section.
| Sl.No | Train NO | Name of the Train | Diverted via |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 15120 | Manduadih-Rameswaram(Weekly) Exp | Chennai Egmore,Perambur,Jolarpettai,Salem,Karur&Dindigul |
| 2 | 22404 | New Delhi-Puducherry (Weekly) Exp | Chennai Central, Perambur,Katpadi&Villupuram |
| 3 | 12633 | Chennai Egmore-Kanniyakumari Express | Jolarpet,Salem,Karur&Dindigul |
| 4 | 12642 | Nizamuddin-Kanniyakumari Thirukkural (Bi-weekly) Exp | Chennai Central, Jolarpettai ,Salem,Karur &Dindigul |
| 5 | 16723 | Chennai Egmore-Thiruvananthapuram Ananthapuri Exp | Jolarpet,Erode,Podanur& Ernakulam Town |
| 6 | 12631 | Chennai Egmore-Tirunelveli Nellai Express | Perambur,Katpadi& Villupuram |
| 7 | 12637 | Chennai Egmore-Madurai Pandyan Express | Jolarpet,Karur & Dindigul |
| 8 | 12664 | Tiruchchirappalli-Howrah(Bi-weekly)Exp | Villupuram, Katpadi,Chennai Central |
| 9 | 12638 | Madurai - Chennai Egmore Pandyan Exp. | Dindigul,Karur&Jolarpettai |
| 10 | 12632 | Thirunelveli - Chennai Egmore Nellai Exp | Villupuram, Katpadi,Perambur |
| 11 | 12634 | Kanyakumari-Chennai Egmore Exp | dindigul,Karur&Salem |
| 12 | 16860 | Mangalore - Chennai Egmore Exp | Erode,Salem& Jolarpettai |
| 13 | 16724 | Thiruvananthapuram- Chennai Egmore Ananthapuri Exp | Dindigul,Karur,Salem,Jolarpettai |
| 14 | 12665 | Howrah - Kanyakumari Exp (Ex Howrah 30.11.2015) | Perambur,Katpadi& Villupuram |
| 15 | 16128 | Guruvayur - Chennai Egmore Exp(Ex.Guruvayur 30.11.15) | Villupuram,Katpadi & Perambur |
Weather Warning for next four days
source: IMD
December 2 Heavy rain at a few places with very heavy rainfall at isolated places would occur over Tamil Nadu & Puducherry. Heavy to very heavy rain at isolated places would occur over Coastal Andhra Pradesh and heavy over Kerala & Rayalaseema.
December 3 : Heavy rainfall at a few places with very heavy at isolated places would occur over Tamil Nadu & Puducherry. Heavy rain at isolated places would occur over Coastal Andhra Pradesh and Kerala.
December 4: Heavy to very heavy rainfall would occur at isolated places over Tamil Nadu & Puducherry and heavy over Kerala.
December 5 : Heavy rainfall would occur at isolated places over Tamil nadu & Puducherry.
Chennai Metro extends services
Chennai Metro Rail extends services.Last train from Koyambedu to leave at 10.40 p.m.and from Alandur at11 p.m
