Tamil Nadu’s north-east monsoon likely to onset; red alert issued for Chennai, adjoining districts

Chennai: Tamil Nadu’s lifeline north-east monsoon (NEM) is likely to onset on Tuesday and is expected to drench the state with record rains this season with the MeT department issuing a red alert for Chennai and adjoining districts on October 16, warning that the rains could exceed about 20 cm in a day.

Several parts of the state like Coimbatore, and Madurai are already experiencing heavy to very heavy rainfall leading to flooding in low-lying areas.

Chennai, Tiruvallur, Kanchipuram, and Chengalpattu, will receive heavy to very rainfall from October 15 to October 17 under the influence of an upper air cyclonic circulation over southeast Bay of Bengal which is likely to become a well-marked low-pressure area, the Regional Meteorological Centre said in its bulletin on Monday.

With the forecast bringing back the scary memories of the floods that the city faced last December, Chief Minister M K Stalin, whose government faced the public fury over ill-preparedness last year, asked district administrations to be on “high alert” and move “reinforcements” to low-lying and vulnerable area by the end of Monday.

The government also declared holiday for schools and colleges on October 15, while asking IT companies to allow their employees to work from their homes for the rest of the week.

Not just the MeT department, independent weather bloggers, whose predictions have come true in the past, too warned that Chennai could receive up to 20 cm of rainfall on Wednesday.

Chennai Weatherman, a X handle, said there is a possibility of the low pressure turning into a depression and crossing close to the Chennai coast. “In that case, once we are under the direct impact of the bulky Western quadrant, rains will be continuous and heavy for a certain period,” he said.

Unwilling to take chances after coming under severe criticism last year, the government said it has kept ready about 1,200 relief centres in Chennai and three adjoining districts to lodge people affected by rains, while nearly 500 boats are kept on stand-by to transport people out of marooned areas along with hundreds of pumps to drain the water out, tree cutters, and JCBs.

A red alert has been issued to Chennai, Kanchipuram, Tiruvallur, Chengalpattu, Cuddalore, Villupuram, Mayiladuthurai, Tiruvarur, and Nagapattinam districts, while the IMD also appealed to fishermen to desist from entering the sea.

Since the rainfall could be about 20 cm, the district administrations have been asked to put in place a detailed plan to evacuate people from their homes and reach help to them.

People living in low-lying areas in Chennai were in a panic mode on Monday as they began parking their vehicles on flyovers to avoid them getting damaged in the rain.

While citizens fear a rerun of the 2023 floods with several roads dug up for metro and other construction work, the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) claimed it is prepared to face the monsoon along with the people.

The civic body is in the process of enrolling about 10,000 volunteers to help rescue and relief personnel in case of any exigency.

Stalin also asked the Southern Railway and Chennai Metro Rail Corporation (CMRL) to run additional services for the next few days.