The Hindu : Front Page : Rain returns to batter Chennai

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Dec 03, 2005

Front Page

Front Page

Rain returns to batter Chennai

City Bureau

Normal life thrown out of gear again

CHENNAI: After a week's respite, the sky opened up over Chennai on Friday, bringing in over 10 cm rain, even as the cyclone weakened and petered out into a low pressure area.

The rain threw normal life out of gear, created traffic hold-ups and exposed the lack of viable engineering solutions for problems related to unplanned growth, especially in the busy commercial areas.

Even arterial roads such as Poonamallee High Road were flooded during the morning peak hours, posing problems to office-goers.

The traffic pile-up due to flooding was acute in T. Nagar, where vehicle users were stranded in knee-deep water for nearly an hour.

It also created the second disappointment in the last 10 days for cricket fans. As in the case of the one-dayer against South Africa, the first day's play of the India-Sri Lanka cricket Test was washed out.

A slightly breezy and bright morning, turned suddenly dark by 9 a.m. and within an hour, blinding rain lashed the city. By 5-30 p.m., Nungambakkam recorded over 9 cm rain which continued into the night.

The weather office said heavy showers would continue on Saturday.

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