Widespread rains continued to lash parts of Tamil Nadu on Friday. Traffic at Kathipara, Poonammallee, Porur, Maduravoyal, Vysarpadi, and Chennai suburbs came to a standstill with all sorts of vehicles getting stranded in the rainwater. Residents of Vyasarpadi and Pallavaram complained that water logging in their areas during monsoon has become a regular feature. Overnight rains lashed Chennai and the neighbouring Tiruvallur, Chengelpet and Kancheepuram, besides Villupuram and some areas in the Cauvery delta region.
Several areas in Thiruvannamalai, which had experienced mud slips atleast four times when Cyclone Fengal crossed the Tamil Nadu and Karaikal coast on November 30, and some parts in the southern districts, as well, were swarmed by swathes of water. An NDRF team has been deployed at Thiruvannamalai, equipped with advanced disaster management equipment to respond to any emergency, an official said.
The state government has urged people in the low-lying areas to remain vigilant and take appropriate action.
Following a sudden increase in the inflows into the Sathanur dam in Thiruvannamalai district that sharply surged the water level, about 13,000 cusecs water was released from the reservoir on Thursday. In Chennai, about 1,000 cusecs water was released from the Poondi dam, one of the chief sources of drinking water to the metro, in the afternoon and the quantum was gradually increased to about 5,000 cusecs in the evening, PWD said. The water level in the Chembarambakkam dam inched towards the full reservoir level. Its present level stood at 21.90 feet against its full level capacity of 24 feet. It’s storage increased to 84.88 percent owing to heavy rain in the catchment areas.
