Monsoon rains choke Chennai

The Northeast Monsoon hit the city with a vengeance on Friday, bringing down 62.8 mm of rain till evening and crippling norma­lcy. That figure is likely to cli­mb higher, as incessant rain continued into the night.

Deputy Director General of Meteorology, Regional Meteorological Centre, Y E A Raj confirmed that the showers were from the on-schedule monsoon, “The Northea­st Monsoon has begun over Tamil Nadu, Kerala,  Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka,” he said,  predicting that it would last till October 27. The good news:  heavy showers will last only for the next four days.

Waterlogged roads were a common feature across the city, with the occasional fallen tree. Traffic policemen had a tough job, with arterial roads like Mount Road, Poonamallee High Road and Jawaharlal Nehru Road gridlocked with vehicles for kilometres around.

A direct effect was that it took longer for vehicles to pave way for ambulances.  Dr Vinayan, an emergency room doctor at a private hospital in Nungambakkam said their ambulance response time was much lower than usual. “The drivers told me that bec­ause half the road was flooded, people could use only a part of it and this extended the traffic jam,” he said.

The massive flooding on roads has raised doubts about how effective the underground drainage system is. However, the Corporation of Chennai was quick to assert that they had matters well in control.