CHENNAI: At least five stations in the north and central zones of Greater Chennai Corporation received more than 200 mm of rain in just 14 hours, from 6 am to 8 pm on Tuesday. This was supposed to be a precursor to the genuine horror show on Wednesday, but instead it turned out to be an incredible day.
The weather service predicted that heavy rains in the orange alert category, ranging from 64.5 mm to 115.5 mm, would fall over Chennai and its surrounding areas.
However, significantly more than that range was received by these five stations—Kathivakkam, Perambur, Ayapakkam, Kolathur, and Manali New Town—putting them in the red alert level.
The acutely intense rainfall that began early in the morning overwhelmed the civic infrastructure, the majority of which is still under construction and hence ill-prepared to withstand such a deluge. The outcome was flooding at several locations throughout the city, which the Chennai Corporation’s frontline workers and others struggled to contain.
People’s general sentiment throughout the city was one of dissatisfaction and rage at the unfinished municipal works. They indicated that at least some suffering may have been relieved if things had been finished.
The partially completed projects by Metro Water, the electricity board, and other parties exacerbated the situation by clogging the roads with slush and debris, limiting the amount of space available for traffic, endangering public safety, and making life more difficult for the hundreds of workers assigned to mitigate the floods.
As the resentment towards the civic body was about to explode, the State government intervened promptly to assume command of the ongoing operations. On Monday night, Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi and Chief Minister MK Stalin sent their sons to the field. The latter traveled all across the city to assess the actions performed by different departments.
Chief Minister Stalin arrived on Tuesday and conducted a number of inspections. Before announcing Wednesday as a holiday for educational institutions, state PSUs, and certain government offices that are not physically present on the ground, he also took stock of the entire situation.
The public and opposition parties quickly took advantage of the State administration’s lack of planning, and it was met with criticism; yet, the government found unexpected support. A rare word of appreciation came from Governor RN Ravi, who has never shied away from criticizing the government on a variety of topics.
“The State government has made all possible arrangements accordingly,” Ravi said, addressing the media in Salem. “The Indian Meteorological Department warned that the northeast monsoon would bring more torrential rains than expected.”