The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Rain continues to lash several areas in State

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Dec 05, 2005

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Rain continues to lash several areas in State

Special Correspondent

"The situation is complex with the entire precipitation in the huge catchment having no place to go" Though the weather office said the low pressure area had "vanished," it had forecast fairly widespread over the entire State for Monday with isolated heavy rain

CHENNAI: Several parts of the State experienced heavy rain, even as the low pressure area over the southwest and adjoining west central bay dissipated on Sunday.

Tiruvidaimarudur in Thanjavur district recorded 31 cm during the 24-hour-period that ended at 8-30 a.m. on Sunday. Thanjavur town received 20 cm, Pullambadi (in Tiruchi district) 19 cm and Papanasam (Thanjavur) - 17 cm. Many areas of northern, western and southern districts including Cuddalore, Namakkal and Sivaganga also witnessed rain.

Chennai's observatories, Nungambakkam and Meenambakkam, recorded just two cm each. Tambaram, which registered 31 cm the previous day, received five cm. The only place in and around Chennai that recorded heavy rain was Sriperumpudur, which recorded 12 cm.

Though the weather office said the low pressure had "vanished," it had forecast fairly widespread over the entire State for Monday with isolated heavy rain.

Referring to 28 cm recorded by the Meenambakkam station on Saturday, Chief Minister Jayalalithaa, in a statement, said it resulted in a complex situation with the entire precipitation in the huge catchment having no place to go, as all the lakes and reservoirs adjoining the city were already full from the previous spells of rain. This led to heavy flooding of the Chennai city. "The river systems and the major drains draining the flood waters in the city have overall functioned extremely well enabling quick drainage of most parts of the city," she said.

Power supply cut

As a preventive measure, the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board disconnected supply in vulnerable areas as soon as the flooding commenced. Though 83 out of the total 808 11KV feeders in and around the city were disconnected initially, they were re-connected on Sunday. Noting that a few distribution transformers below each feeder were still in waterlogged areas, the Chief Minister said the TNEB was trying to reconnect them at the earliest.

Metrowater had been delivering water through lorries in areas where the supply had been affected.

In the neighbouring Kancheepuram district, 52 relief centres were organised and in Tiruvallur, 73 relief centres were set up.

The Ministers, V. Somasundaram and B. Valarmathi, visited the two districts respectively, the Chief Minister said.

The release of flood flows from the Chembarmappakam tank hit severely Kotturpuram, a colony along the Adyar river in south Chennai.

In the Tamil Nadu Slum Clearance Board tenements located on the banks of the Adyar at Kotturpuram, water kept rising till the ground floor houses were flooded on Sunday morning.

Panic-stricken residents vacated their houses, after shifting some of their valuables to upper floors. Jafferkhanpet, Manapakkam and Ramavaram were also badly affected. Residents along the Cooum and the Virugambakkam canal had to move to safer places.

Fibre boats and catamarans were used to ferry the affected people to safer places. Police, fire service personnel, Navy divers, the Army and the Coastguard helped in the rescue efforts.

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