Chennai rain: schools shut in five districts after heavy overnight downpour

Schools in Chennai and four neighbouring districts of Tamil Nadu are closed on Wednesday, 21 October, after a night of heavy rain left several parts of the city waterlogged. District Collectors in Chennai, Kancheepuram, Tiruvallur and Chengalpattu declared the holiday, and Ranipet followed with a similar order, The Hindu and DT Next reported.

There is little sign of a let-up. The Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC) in Chennai expects a fresh low-pressure system over the Bay of Bengal to keep rain going across the State until 26 October, with the southern and delta districts likely to get the heaviest spells.

How much rain fell overnight

According to The Hindu, the weather station at Meenambakkam logged 12 cm of rain and Nungambakkam 11 cm. Taramani received 10 cm, Madhavaram 9 cm, and Villivakkam and Nandanam 8 cm each.

Gauge readings compiled by DT Next put Vadapalani at the top with 132.9 mm, followed by Saidapet at 125.2 mm and Alandur at 119.4 mm. Madipakkam (114.6 mm), Maduravoyal (112.5 mm), Valasaravakkam (109.6 mm), Nungambakkam (106.8 mm), Adyar (104.1 mm) and Korattur (96 mm) also recorded large totals. Figures vary slightly between reports depending on the station network and measuring period.

Rainwater stagnated on roads including Anna Salai and Woods Road, The Hindu reported. The Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) received 1,212 complaints in the 24 hours up to 5 am on Wednesday, most of them about waterlogging and flooding, along with more than 50 about fallen trees and streetlights that were not working, the GCC commissioner said, according to DT Next.

Most complaints came from the core city, with others from northern zones such as Manali and Madhavaram. The commissioner said most of the waterlogging and tree-fall complaints had been cleared, and that streetlight faults were to be fixed within a day. Residents can report civic problems on the 1913 helpline.

What the forecast says

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said in its Tuesday night bulletin that an upper-air cyclonic circulation persisted off the Tamil Nadu coast in the southwestern part of the Bay, and that a low-pressure area was likely to form there within 12 hours.

A second circulation, near the Gulf of Thailand and Myanmar, was expected to drift into the north Andaman Sea. It could lead to another low-pressure area over the southeast and east-central Bay of Bengal around 23 October, which may then strengthen for about three days.

Because of the two systems, the RMC has forecast heavy to very heavy rain over parts of Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Karaikal until 26 October, along with thunderstorms, lightning and gusty winds of 40 to 50 kmph at one or two places.

Tirunelveli and Thoothukudi are among the southern districts placed on orange alert, with as much as 20 cm of rain possible there on Wednesday and Thursday, the RMC said. According to the IMD forecast cited by DT Next, isolated places in Thoothukudi, Tirunelveli and Kanniyakumari could see heavy to very heavy falls on Wednesday, as could Tenkasi, Virudhunagar and Ramanathapuram on Thursday. Heavy rain is also possible in districts such as the Nilgiris, Coimbatore, Madurai, Thanjavur and Nagapattinam.

A short-term RMC alert valid until 10 am on Wednesday warned of light to moderate rain with thunder and lightning at isolated places in 16 districts, among them Chennai, Tiruvallur, Chengalpattu and Kancheepuram, as well as in Puducherry and Karaikal. Chennai is expected to see a high of about 30 degrees Celsius and a low of about 25 degrees.

Monsoon season and Thursday’s schools

The IMD has said the northeast monsoon set in over Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Karaikal on 15 October, the same day the southwest monsoon withdrew from the entire country. The RMC said the rain that recently battered the north coast is now expected to shift towards the southern and interior districts.

No decision on a school holiday for Thursday, 22 October, had been announced at the time of writing, Careers360 reported. Parents and students are advised to follow announcements from their district administrations.

Sources: The Hindu, The Hindu (forecast), DT Next, Careers360, IMD Regional Meteorological Centre, Chennai