Rain damages Chengalpattu railway station's roof; several trees uprooted

CHENNAI: Midnight rain with strong wind had affected train and flight services during early morning hours of Tuesday in Chennai and nearby places.

Following heavy rain in the neighbouring Chengalpattu district at midnight, trees were uprooted in many places and the roof of the Chengalpattu railway station was damaged completely.

Heavy rains started in Chengalpattu at around 12.30 am with strong winds in Chengalpattu, Vallam, Melamaiyur, and other areas around the town. In most of the areas, trees and electric poles were uprooted and power supply got disconnected from midnight. In Pulipakkam, a tree fell on the railway line and express trains which were supposed to arrive from the Southern TN districts got delayed.

The stalls in the railway station were also toppled and fell on the parked suburban train. However, there were no human casualties as there was nobody on the railway platform at midnight. Railway staff along with the PWD and Revenue Department cleared trees which fell on the lanes and the train services resumed in the morning.

Following the rain, flight service was also affected as 10 domestic flights got cancelled on Tuesday morning. The Indigo airlines flight to Visakhapatnam which was supposed to depart at 7 am and 10.40 am were cancelled and flights which were supposed to arrive from Visakhapatnam were also cancelled. The Air Asia flights to Hyderabad, Jaipur, and Mumbai were also cancelled due to the bad weather.