Heavy rain lashes Chennai, schools shut in four districts as low-pressure area forms over Bay of Bengal

Heavy rain lashed Chennai and northern Tamil Nadu from Tuesday evening into Wednesday, waterlogging low-lying roads and prompting school closures in four districts, as a low-pressure area formed over the southwest Bay of Bengal.

MGR Nagar in Chennai recorded the highest rainfall in the 24 hours to 8:30 am on Wednesday at 15 cm, and several other neighbourhoods received between 10 and 15 cm, according to Met department data reported by PTI. Schools were closed in Chennai, Thiruvallur, Kancheepuram and Chengalpattu districts.

Waterlogging and fallen trees

Trees were uprooted in several parts of the city, and water collected on stretches including Taramani on OMR and parts of T Nagar. Rain eased in Chennai later in the day but continued intermittently elsewhere in the state. In Tuticorin in the south, saltpans were flooded. No deaths were reported.

The Greater Chennai Corporation said it distributed tens of thousands of food packets through community kitchens, set up fever camps across zones and deployed heavy pumps to clear water from areas such as Perungudi and Manali. Ministers and Chennai Mayor R Priya inspected relief work. The catchments of the reservoirs that supply Chennai's drinking water, including Poondi, Puzhal and Chembarambakkam, received up to 6.1 cm of rain, and the lakes are filling up.

Rain moves south

The low-pressure area formed early on Wednesday morning. The Met department has forecast heavy to very heavy rain at isolated places today across southern and delta districts, including Tuticorin, Tirunelveli, Kanyakumari, Madurai, Coimbatore, the Nilgiris, Thanjavur and Nagapattinam, as well as Karaikal. Thunderstorms with gusty winds of 40 to 50 kmph are likely at some places. Widespread rain is expected to continue on Friday, with very heavy falls possible in Kanyakumari, the Nilgiris and Coimbatore.

What residents should know

Residents in the alert districts are advised to avoid waterlogged roads and follow local district administration notices on school closures and travel. The northeast monsoon is Tamil Nadu's main rainy season, bringing much of the state's annual rainfall between October and December.