The rains may have receded on Thursday, but waters from Tuesday night’s torrential downpour and Wednesday’s night mild shower continued to impact traffic, and low-level areas of the city remained inundated.
On Thursday, Nungambakkam and Meenambakkam recorded less than one cm of rainfall.
Several arterial roads, including Nelson Manickam Road, Poonamallee High Road and Sterling Road were held up by traffic snarls. On the IT Corridor, vehicles inched in serpentine queues on the waterlogged stretches in areas such as Perungudi and Kandhanchavadi.
Residents of Kalaivanar Nagar, Ambattur, staged a road roko demanding that the stormwater drain in their locality be desilted to reduce flooding.
A few trees too, were uprooted in some areas. Access to 15 Main Road, Anna Nagar was cut off for a while, as a huge tree had fallen on the road.
In the southern suburbs, Madipakkam was worst affected, as it is during every heavy spell of rain. Residents of Ram Nagar and Sadasivam Nagar in the area spent a sleepless night mopping up ankle-deep water that had entered their homes.
“I have taken leave from work because of the rains,” said K. Jayaraman, an employee at a private hospital, as he helped his daughter mop up the wet floor in their living room. His apartment complex on Sadasivam Nagar Main Road is completely surrounded by water and the residents here said they spent around Rs. 8,000 tobuy two HP motors a few years ago to drain rainwater.
At Ram Nagar, some families moved into their relatives’ homes, waiting for the water to recede.
In Tambaram, S. Sebastin, joint director of municipal administration inspected measures being taken by the local body to combat flood-related problems. A press release said five teams had been formed in Tambaram and Sembakkam municipalities to ensure that chlorinated drinking water was supplied to residents.
According to the meteorological department, the low-pressure area over west-central Bay of Bengal has become less marked now, and its associated upper cyclonic circulation extends six km above sea level. This is expected to bring moderate to heavy rainfall over the State for two more days. Chennai and its fringes will get a few spells of rain or thundershowers until Saturday.
