Six men, all construction workers, were killed and six others injured when a portion of a compound wall collapsed on a row of thatched huts following heavy rain on Saturday at Chinnapuliyur village near Gummidipoondi in Tiruvallur district.
The victims were taking shelter from the downpour.
The rain had made the mud soft and the basement of the compound wall weak, resulting in the collapse of the wall. All the victims are from Jharkhand and Odisha, police said.
Moderate rain
The depression that formed over southwest Bay of Bengal four days ago crossed the Tamil Nadu coast near Nagapattinam on Saturday noon, bringing moderate rains to the city.
The system, which remained stationary for several hours, picked up moderate speed and crossed the coast between 12.30 p.m. and 1.30 p.m.
Part of that formation remained over the bay, and subsequently moved west-north westwards.
It is expected to weaken gradually into a well-marked low pressure within a day.
After many days without rain, several rain gauges in and around city, including those at Taramani, Kolapakkam, Poonamallee and Ennore Port, recorded 1 to 2 cm of rainfall between 8.30 a.m. and 8.30 p.m. on Saturday.
Weather observatories in Nungambakkam and Meenambakkam received 2 and 1.1 cm of rain during the same period.
The day temperature in Nungambakkam and Meenambakkam dropped to 26 degree Celsius, four degrees below average on Saturday. Residents said that though the sky remained murky, many localities started receiving rain in the afternoon.
Officials of the Meteorological department said though the system was expected to persist and bring heavy rainfall, the system that was stationed 75 km east of Nagapattinam at around 8.30 a.m. moved rapidly.
Chennai received 3 cm of rainfall since Friday night. Officials have said the city will get rain on Sunday too.
Y.E.A.Raj, Deputy Director-General of Meteorology, Regional Meteorological Centre, Chennai, said places like Chidambaram and Cuddalore received nearly 10 cm of rain since Friday night.
