Thousands of motorists and commuters were stranded for several hours on arterial roads in Chennai on Thursday evening as waterlogging caused by sudden and incessant heavy rain led to a gridlock. The city last witnessed such a situation in November 2015.
Aerial visuals showed buses, cars, autorickshaws and scooters caught in a bumper-to-bumper jam along Anna Salai, Broadway, NSC Bose Road, Nelson Manickam Road, Koyambedu, Mylapore, Vadapalani, Porur and other areas.
Some of those who left their offices returned to their point of origin, having covered less than a kilometre in an hour. Metro Rail stations witnessed unprecedented crowds as people desperately tried to reach home.
Rain Water stagnate in the MTC Bus Depot at Thiruvanmiyur due to Heavy Rain in Chennai.
Three electrocuted
A 13-year-old boy in Mylapore, an elderly woman at Otteri and a woman at Pulianthope were electrocuted.
After returning from Tiruchi, Chief Minister M.K. Stalin visited the Flood Control Room in the Ripon Building, the headquarters of the Greater Chennai Corporation, around 11.45 p.m. and reviewed the situation.
On a cloudy day, it started with a drizzle. An intense spell set in by 3 p.m. and left several areas, including T. Nagar, Mylapore, Teynampet and Nungambakkam, reeling under water. These are the rainfall figures (in mm) till 10.30 p.m.: MRC Nagar (214.5), ACS Medical College (161.5), Meenambakkam (143), Satyabama University (61.5), Anna University (150) and YMCA Nandanam (181.5).
Heavy traffic jam due to heavy rain in Chennai on Thursday. A scene at Gandhi Irwin Road, Egmore.
The city will receive rain till January 3, the India Meteorological Department said. While the sky will be cloudy, there may be thunderstorm, with light to moderate rain, in some areas.
Though rain was forecast, no one expected so much, say weather bloggers.
Deputy Director-General of Meteorology S. Balachandran said, “The interaction of the easterly winds at the lower level and the westerly winds at the upper level has brought rain to the city. We had given a forecast of rain. The rain will continue till January 3.”
Puviarasan, director, Area Cyclone Warning Centre, said the unexpected fast movement of the easterly trough over the Chennai coast gave the city the heavy rain. “This is a highly localised event, and it is very difficult to predict such short spells of this intensity.”
Expressing surprise over the quantum of rain, weather blogger Pradeep John said, “We can call this a cloudburst. The rain rate was amazing. We received close to 10 cm in an hour,” he said.
Rain water stagnate on the Swami Sivananda Salai near the Coovam River due to heavy rain in Chennai.
Another weather blogger K. Srikanth said, “There have been such episodes in the past too. In November, we saw the city receiving 20 cm. Similarly, a few years ago, Taramani got 10 cm. At least we had a few weather models in November that did predict such heavy spells, but this time no one saw it coming,” he said.
The India Meteorological Department predicted thunderstorm with heavy rain for Friday at isolated places in Cuddalore, Villupuram and Mayiladuthurai districts, Puducherry and Karaikal, and thunderstorm with moderate rain at many places in the the rest of Tamil Nadu’s coastal districts and a few places in the interior districts.
More rainfall than 2015
The city received more rain this entire year than what it got in 2015, and this is the third wettest, year after 2005 and 1996, weather bloggers say. Mr. Pradeep John wrote on Twitter that while the city received 209 cm in 2015, it crossed this figure on Thursday. “2015 annual rainfall is overtaken by 2021 & is the 3rd wettest year of all time behind 2005 & 1996,” he posted.
Mr. Srikanth said that 2021 was quite a different year, compared with 2005, 1996 or 2015. “This year, there were a few episodes of sharp intense short spells which made a huge difference, unlike the previous years. We have to know that the city had an excess rainfall in the first half and the last half.”
