The devastation from the Bay of Bengal is still showing its effects. There is a ‘lockdown’ like atmosphere in Tamil Nadu after continuous heavy rains for several days due to cyclonic storm Ditvah. There is a possibility of heavy rain here on 4th and 5th December also. In such a situation, keeping in mind the safety of the students, the authorities have announced the closure of schools in Chennai and Tiruvallur districts as a precautionary measure.
Many coastal areas of Chennai, Tiruvallur and adjoining districts received heavy rainfall accompanied by strong winds as the weak system was still over the area. Due to incessant rains and water logging across the city, Chennai District Collector Rashmi Siddharth Jagade extended the holidays in schools on Thursday. This is the third consecutive day in the district when schools remained closed.
In neighboring Tiruvallur, District Collector Prathap declared holiday only for schools on Thursday due to heavy rains in some areas.
Unlike Chennai, other government offices and institutions continued to function normally. By Thursday morning, rainfall had eased slightly in many parts of the city, bringing some respite to residents who had been battling waterlogging, traffic jams and prolonged wet conditions since the beginning of the week.
The sky cleared for some time, which gave hope for further improvement. The Regional Meteorological Center said rainfall is expected to gradually reduce over the next 24 hours as the system weakens further. However, heavy rains still continued in some areas of Chengalpattu district. Chengalpattu and areas under Kattankulathur union, Kolathur, Balur and Appur witnessed heavy rain accompanied by thunder and lightning.
A huge amount of water from Ninnakarai forest area passed through Carampedu area, inundating areas along the Kuduvancheri-Kottamedu road. Near Perumattunallur bus stand, rain water was flowing like a stream on both sides of the road, forcing vehicles to move slowly through the waterlogged roads. In Vishnupriya Nagar near Guduvanchery, almost every street was submerged, and more than a hundred houses were flooded, causing inconvenience to residents and raising concerns about drainage preparedness in the fast-growing suburb.
While the weather in Chennai has started to improve, officials are still keeping an eye on vulnerable areas, and are urging residents to remain cautious as intermittent rain is still likely. (With IANS inputs)
