Chennai: Heavy rains lashed various parts of Tamilnadu, including Chennai and its suburbs, affecting normal life, even as a woman died in a wall collapse in the city.
The steady rains, which began in the wee hours of today, continued for a few hours, leaving several roads waterlogged in the city. Traffic on several arterial roads moved at a snail’s pace due to inundation, causing hardship to office-goers.
The rains were especially heavy in the neighbouring Thiruvallur district, where the Poondi and other reservoirs, catering to the water needs of the city, were located.
The rains brought cheers among the water managers as all the four reservoirs got good inflow. People of this teeming megapolis woke up to pleasant weather as rains brought relief from the searing heat. Met office sources said that the rains were due to presence of an upper air cyclonic circulation over the Bay.
Despite heavy rains, holiday was not declared for schools in Chennai, Thiruvallur and Kancheepuram districts as the quarterly examinations were on.
Meanwhile, a 50-year-old woman was killed in a wall collapse at Mannady in north Chennai early this morning. The woman, identified as Zarina Begam, was sleeping near a wall in her tiled house, when it collapsed due to heavy rains. She died on the spot. Police and fire service personnel rushed to the spot and shifted her body to the Government hospital for post mortem.
Met office said that Thiruvallur recorded a maximum of 22 cm of rains during the last 24 hrs ending at 8.30 am this morning. It was followed by Poondi (21 cm), Arakkonam in Vellore district (17 cm), Tamaraipakkam (15 cm), Sholavaram, Tiruvalangadu (13 each), Tiruttani (12 cm), Ennore (11 cm), Chennai North (12 cm), Chennai City (10.4 cm), R K Pettai and Gummidipoondi (10 cm each) and suburban Meenambakkam (9.4 cm).
Met office said heavy rain is likely to occur at isolated places over Tamilnadu during the next 24 hrs. The forecast for Chennai city is that the sky condition is likely to be generally cloudy, with light to moderate rain in some areas.