Madurai
‘Agni Natchathiram’ or Dog Days on Thursday left a pleasant note with a two-hour-long steady spell of rain in the city.
Even though Madurai city was witnessing scorching heat for the last few days, the elusive summer showers finally helped in cool down the atmospheric temperature.
ADVERTISEMENT
After a long hot day, sharp showers started at around 4 p.m. Though it was initially accompanied by heavy wind that heavily swayed the trees, later thunder and lightning joined the rain.
Suddenly, the bright sun disappeared behind the black clouds that expedited the fall of darkness in the next 30 minutes. The gravity of thunder and lightning was unusually high. Amidst the darker evening, the lightning flashed continuously. It was accompanied by deafening thunders that kept most of the people indoors and off the roads. By then, the heavy wind turned into breeze.
As the rain started much earlier, most of the office-goers were caught in their offices. The sudden downpour also inundated many low-lying areas and many arterial roads were flooded.
ADVERTISEMENT
With frequent thunder and lightning, power cut was experienced in many areas. Fire and Rescue Services personnel had to struggle to remove trees that had fallen in Ponmeni, Mathichiyam, Bibikulam and T. Kallupatti.
Fire at textile shop
Meanwhile, a major fire was reported in a textile shop on East Chithirai Street. The fire that was noticed at around 7 p.m. after the three-storeyed building was closed, spread to all the floors. Fire and Rescue Services personnel from various fire stations in the city fought for more than two hours to bring the flames under control. Four fire tenders, several water lorries of Corporation were pressed into service. The cause of the fire is not known immediately.