It was time again for umbrellas and raincoats to make an appearance on the city roads as sharp showers lashed various areas on Friday afternoon and continued through the evening.
Water stagnation, especially on already rain-ravaged roads, slowed traffic flow at various places. Many roads in areas of north Chennai including Old Washermenpet, Tondiarpet, Vyasarpadi and Moolakadai were either waterlogged or slushy, causing plenty of hardship to pedestrians and motorists.
Commuters at the bus terminus in Mint struggled to find their way through stagnated pools of rainwater.
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Traffic snarls presented as usual at Basin Bridge on Friday, with vehicles lining up on either side of the badly-damaged subway road. Commuters in the area witnessed heavy traffic congestion starting from 5 p.m.
Vijaya, a resident of Vyasarpadi, said there was partial waterlogging on some stretches in Vyasarpadi.
“I had gone to Kodungaiyur and took a bus to get home. Traffic was badly affected near Moolakadai as the road condition is terrible. It took me nearly two hours to reach home. Motorists find it extremely difficult to cross this junction as it is filled with bumps and potholes and is slushy,” she said.
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Easter Raj, a resident of Vivekananda Nagar in Kolathur said the heavy rain had resulted in partial waterlogging in his area.
On Velachery Main Road, digging work on the margins of the stretch between Poondi Bazaar junction and Selaiyur Road had shrunk the width of the road and rainwater, mixed with sewage, had accumulated on the road, resulting in slow movement of traffic.
Showers take suburbs by surprise
The city’s southern suburbs also received heavy rains through the day. While Anakaputhur and Pammal saw rains from the morning, it was not until evening that it started raining in areas around Tambaram.
No power cuts
As the showers were not accompanied by strong winds, there were no reports of power supply disruption. Usually, officials of Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation severe power supply immediately, when strong winds prevail.
Woman electrocuted
In Injambakkam, on Thursday, a 38-year-old woman was electrocuted after she came in contact with a livewire that had snapped and fallen into a puddle of water stagnated outside her house.
The Neelankarai police said the accident took place around 8.30 p.m. when the victim, Anthony Sakayarani stepped outside her house in Bethel Nagar and into the water. She suffered an electric shock and died on the spot.
(With inputs from Serena Josephine M., K. Manikandan and Petlee Peter)
Our Staff Reporter adds:
Rains spill over from monsoon in other States
In just two hours on Friday evening, Chennai and its neighbourhood recorded good rainfall, thanks to active southwest monsoon in other States.
The weather station at Meenambakkam received nearly 4.19 cm of rainfall till 8.30 p.m. on Friday. Several localities such as Kolappakam, Chembarambakkam, Guindy and Poonamallee recorded 2 cm and Nungambakkam, 1.86 cm during the same period.
A feeble low pressure area over the Bay of Bengal had caused the rainfall over the northern parts of the State, including Chennai.
On an average, Nungambakkam and Meenambakkam get 10 cm and 12 cm of rainfall respectively in July. So far this July, Meenambakkam has already received rainfall of 8.7 cm. As the season progresses, Chennai would get more rains.
Y.E.A. Raj, deputy director general of meteorology, regional meteorological centre, Chennai, said Nungambakkam has recorded 9.1 cm so far this month.
He said that a squall with wind speed reaching 47 km per hour had passed over Meenambakkam at 7 p.m. on Thursday and brought rain. Meenambakkam experiences such squalls for three days between May and September as it is away from the coast. When thunderstorm activity triggered by sea breeze occurs, locations about 20 km away from the sea like Meenambakkam benefit more. Nungambakkam, which is close to the coast, experiences squall only for a day, he added.
The department forecasts that rainfall will continue during the evenings or nights till Sunday.