Torrential rains bring Chennai to standstill, MET forecasts heavy rainfall in next 24 hours

Amid heavy rain overnight for about ten hours in districts of Kancheepuram and Tiruvallur which brought public life to a grinding halt, affected normal life completely on Friday, the Met department has forecast heavy to very heavy showers in north coastal Tamil Nadu till Saturday.

Area cyclone warning centre director S Balachandran said, "Yesterday's low-pressure area over Sri Lanka and adjoining the southwest Bay of Bengal now lies over southwest Bay of Bengal off the coasts of Sri Lanka and Tamil Nadu. 

Rainfall activity will continue over north coastal Tamil Nadu with heavy to very heavy rain over Chennai, Thiruvallur and Kancheepuram districts during next 24 hours."

The mild, intermittent showers post noon yesterday became moderate and then heavy in some pockets last night inundating several more neighborhoods including West Mambalam and the Guindy Industrial Estate. As a result, bus, taxi, auto and suburban train services were affected.

Services were restored at 3.20 am today, Railway officials said.Heavy traffic congestion and a serpentine queue of vehicles were seen at the arterial Kathipara grade separator, Guindy intersection, Saidapet and all along till Velachery through the Raj Bhavan point.

Flight operations at the city airport were normal, airport officials said.

Chennai recorded around 20cm rainfall, destroying roads and streets across the city in the last 24 hours. Some of the waterlogged roads include 100 Feet Road (near Olympia Tech Park), OMR, Velachery-Saidapet Road, Vivekananda College Road and Sterling Road.

As water entered into homes, there were power cuts in several places.