Heavy rains lash Chennai and Tamil Nadu coast, to continue for next few days

Heavy showers lashed Chennai and eight other districts in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry today as the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) predicted more rains in the next few days.

Apart from Chennai, showers occurred today along coastal Tamil Nadu in Nagapattinam, Tiruvallur, Cuddalore, Vellore, Thanjavur, Ramanathapuram, Thoothukudi, and Kanyakumari.

Many parts of Chennai city remained waterlogged and roads were left inundated, which heavily disrupted vehicular movement with slow-paced traffic. Meanwhile, the waterlogged roads also left pedestrians endangered.

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In a span of 24 hours, in Chennai, starting from 8:30 am on Sunday, the Nungambakkam observatory recorded a good 20 mm of rain, according to a Business Standard report.

Schools in Chennai were forced to close for the day an hour earlier, say news reports by local media.

For the next 48 hours in Chennai, according to IMD, few spells of rain are likely to occur.

Meanwhile, the Tamil Nadu weatherman, Pradeep John, who had become a reliable source for weather forecasts after the 2015 floods in Chennai, has been continuously posting updates on social media every few hours.

Heavy spells of rain were seen in Anna Nagar west. Ambattur, Valasarawalkkam, Koyembedu, Mogappair, Ambattur Estate, Porur, Maduravoyal, Nerkundram, and Nolambur areas of Chennai, said the Tamil Nadu weatherman.

The following is his latest update.

Earlier, the Tamil Nadu weatherman had posted on Facebook, assuring people that the monsoon showers should not be as worrying as the rains during the Chennai floods in 2015.

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Rainfall also occurred at isolated places in the neighbouring states of Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Coastal Karnataka.

A report by IMD warns of heavy to very heavy rain tomorrow at isolated places over Chennai, Kancheepuram, Tiruvallur, Cuddalore, Villupuram, Thanjavur, Tiruvarur, Nagapattinam, Pudukottai, Ramanathapuram districts of Coastal Tamil Nadu and Puducherry.