Heavy Rains Lash Chennai And Nearby Districts

Heavy rains continued to pound the city and nearby districts on Monday under the impact of a cyclonic storm, which is likely to cross the coast in Andhra Pradesh on Dec. 5.

Low-lying areas and many residential parts witnessed inundation, even as civic agency personnel were involved in clearing the stagnant water.

Several areas in the city saw power outage and internet disruption as torrential rains accompanied by squally winds continued to lash the region.

The Chennai airport operations were suspended from 9:40 am to 11:40 am. As many as 70 flights arriving to and departing from the airport were cancelled owing to non-stop rains. The runway and tarmac also remain shut, sources said.

Chennai and nearby Chengalpet, Kancheepuram and Tiruvallur districts among others received widespread rains since late Sunday under the impact of cyclonic storm Michaung.

Cyclonic storm "Michaung lay centered over Southwest Bay of Bengal about 210km east-northeast of Puducherry, 150km east-southeast of Chennai at 2330 hrs Dec. 3. Likely to move north-northwestwards, intensify & cross b/w Nellore and Machilipatnam (Andhra Pradesh) during forenoon of 5 Dec as a Severe CS," an update from the India Meteorological Department said.

Rail and air services suffered cancellation and delays.

"In view of water flowing above danger level, the bridge no.14 between Basin bridge and Vyasarpadi has been suspended on account of safety reasons," and six trains originating from the Dr. MGR Chennai Central to destinations including Coimbatore and Mysuru were cancelled on Monday morning, the Southern Railway said, adding full refund shall be granted to all passengers of the above trains.

According to airport officials, 12 domestic outbound services, including to destinations like Ahmedabad and Thiruvananthapuram were cancelled. Four international services, including to Dubai and Srilanka were cancelled by a private carrier.

Three arriving international services were diverted to Bengaluru.

As many as 14 subways in the city have been closed due to inundation, the city police said.

In 11 places, uprooted trees were removed.

At Velachery in the city, a portion of land reportedly gave way, leading to a deep pit and some people were trapped.