Monday’s rains evoked mixed emotions among the residents of Chennai. There was joy and relief at the thought that the showers would help bridge the rain deficit. But, there was also irritation at the impending water-logging and monsoon-related infrastructure hassles.
The well-marked low pressure area over southwest Bay of Bengal that persists over north Sri Lanka and the Tamil Nadu coast will bring the year-end rains over the city until Tuesday.
However, officials of the meteorological department said the chances of the system intensifying into a depression are slim. If it doesn’t grow stronger, rains may begin to decrease from Tuesday evening. “We expect moderate rainfall over the coastal parts of the State and northern parts of Tamil Nadu. Chennai too will experience moderate rain and surface winds may be gusty,” said an official.
Such rain spells during the year-end are not uncommon. The city has experienced cyclones in the previous years, the official added.
On Monday, Nungambakkam and Meenambakkam recorded 5 cm and 3 cm of rainfall respectively between 8.30 a.m. and 8.30 p.m. Several areas, including Puzhal and Tambaram, received rains through the day. Traffic on arterial roads was affected as vehicles moved slowly due to water-logging in areas such as Vadapalani, T. Nagar, Anna Nagar and even some parts of Anna Salai.
Four reservoirs in Poondi, Cholavaram, Chembarambakkam and Red Hills also recorded 1 cm of rainfall till Monday morning. Though the inflow due to rains has been minimal, it has helped in reducing evaporation loss. The storage is building up slowly due to Krishna water and rains over catchment areas.
The combined storage of the reservoirs stands at 3,022 million cubic feet, which is less by 400 mcft compared to the storage during the same period last year.
