With the next extreme weather event likely to hit Chennai and its suburbs on November 10-11, looks like Chennai's 'flood' problem is back again. A red alert has already been issued.
Heavy overnight rain led to flooding in several areas of Chennai on Sunday. Nungambakkam recorded 21.5 cm of rainfall, the highest recorded in a 24-hour period since 2015.
Chembarambakkam and Puzhal reservoirs, which serve as important sources of drinking water to Chennai city would be opened to let out surplus rainwater.
A flood alert has been issued in Kancheepuram and Chengalpattu districts on the banks of River Adyar.
With more heavy rain forecast for the city over the next 48 hours, Chief Minister M.K. Stalin announced a two-day holiday for schools in Chennai, Tiruvallur, Chengalpet and Kancheepuram districts.
Stalin inspected several inundated areas along with top officials including Chief Secretary V Irai Anbu and directed authorities to take swift action to drain flood water.
Meanwhile, PM Narendra Modi spoke to CM Stalin and assured all possible help to mitigate the crisis. He tweeted, “Spoke to Tamil Nadu CM, Thiru @mkstalin and discussed the situation in the wake of heavy rainfall in parts of the state. Assured all possible support from the Centre in rescue and relief work. I pray for everyone’s well-being and safety.”
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Four teams of National Disaster Response
Force have been deployed to assist in rescue operations in case of emergency.
One team each in Chengalpet and Tiruvallur and two teams at Madurai are
stationed for rescue operations, the TNSDMA said.