Chennai rains: Warned of orange, Chennai battles red rage on October 15

CHENNAI: The day that was expected to be a prelude to the actual horror show on Wednesday turned out to be a cracker, with at least five stations in the north and central zones of Greater Chennai Corporation receiving more than 200 mm rain in just 14 hours from 6 am to 8 pm on Tuesday.

According to the weather department, Chennai and its neighbouring districts were expected to receive heavy rains measuring from 64.5 mm to 115.5 mm, which falls in the orange alert category.

But these five stations in Manali New Town, Kathivakkam, Perambur, Kolathur, and Ayapakkam received substantially more than that range, taking them to the red alert category.

Also Read: Chennai rains: Day 1 just a trailer; expect it to pour in north Tamil Nadu for next 2 days

Besides them, 18 stations recorded 116.4 mm and more rainfall, including 10 which had 150 mm or more. By the time the data for the 24-hour period on Tuesday is collected and tabulated, many of them are likely to enter the red category.

The extremely heavy rain right from morning overwhelmed the civic infrastructure, most of which remains still under-construction and hence not equipped to handle such a barrage. The result was inundation across several points in the city, which the frontline worker of the Chennai Corporation and others battled to control.

Across the city, the common refrain among the people was one of anger and disappointment over the civic works remaining unfinished. If these were completed, at least some pain could have been alleviated, they said.

Also Read: Chennai rains: New Manali Town gets 230.1 mm rainfall in 14 hrs; 15 stations record over 150 mm

What made matters worse was the half-done projects by Metro Water, electricity board, and others, which filled the roads with slush and debris, reducing the available road space, posing risk to the public, and adding to the difficulties faced by hundreds of workers deployed for flood mitigation work.

The situation was no different in the neighbouring districts and Municipal Corporations, where the people blamed the authorities for dragging on the basic infrastructure work.

With the anger against the civic body threatening to blow, the State government came into the picture early to take control of the works on the ground. Chief Minister MK Stalin deputed his son and deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi to go on field since Monday night. The latter crisscrossed the city to review the measures undertaken by various departments.

On Tuesday, Chief Minister Stalin hit the ground, and inspected several areas. He also reviewed the overall situation before declaring Wednesday as holiday for schools, colleges, State PSUs and some government offices that are not directly working on the ground.

Even as it faced flak from the public and also the opposition parties which lost no time in latching on to the lack of foresight, the State government received support from an unlikely corner. Governor RN Ravi, who has never missed an opportunity to needle the government over various issues, had a rare word of praise.

Speaking to the media in Salem, Ravi said, “As the Indian Meteorological Department warned that the northeast monsoon would bring more torrential rains than expected, the State government has made all possible arrangements accordingly.”