Even as relentless rainfall causes a flood-like situation in Chennai, on November 8, Tamil Nadu is expected to receive heavy to extremely heavy rainfall. The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted heavy rainfall till Tuesday in Chennai.
According to IMD, a cyclonic circulation lies over north coastal Tamil Nadu, southeast of the Bay of Bengal, and a low-pressure area may form by November 9. The reason behind heavy rainfall is the returning Northeast Monsoon. Notably, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry have received 43% excess rainfall since Northeast Monsoon began in October.
A cyclonic circulation lies over Southeast BoB off Sumatra Coast. Under its influence a low pressure area is likely to form over Southeast BoB around 9th Nov. It is likely to become more marked and move W-NW towards north Tami Nadu coast during the subsequent 48 hours.
— India Meteorological Department (@Indiametdept) November 7, 2021
On Saturday, Chennai started to receive a heavy downpour that continued for over 24 hours. In most of the areas, the water got logged, and the state authorities had to open sluice gates of three reservoirs to let excess water out.
Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC) said that from Saturday 8:30 AM to Sunday Morning, Chennai received 210mm of rainfall. IMD predicted heavy rainfall till Tuesday. As per the reports, Chennai is receiving the heaviest rainfall since 2015. The authorities have deployed four National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams across different locations. Thiruvallur and Chengalpattu district got one team each while Madurai district got two teams of NDRF.
In the span of 24 hours, ten districts other than Chennai have received 200mm+ rainfall. They include Karur, Thiruvallur, Pudukottai, Sivagangai, Trichy, Namakkal, Ramanathapuram, Madurai, Virudhunagar and Erode.
PM Modi assured support
On Sunday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to Chief Minister MK Stalin and assured him of support for the relief and rescue work. In a Tweet, PM Modi said, “Spoke to Tamil Nadu CM, Thiru MK Stalin and discussed the situation in the wake of heavy rainfall in parts of the state. Assured all possible support from the Centre in rescue and relief work. I pray for everyone’s well-being and safety.”
Spoke to Tamil Nadu CM, Thiru @mkstalin and discussed the situation in the wake of heavy rainfall in parts of the state. Assured all possible support from the Centre in rescue and relief work. I pray for everyone’s well-being and safety.
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) November 7, 2021
Quoting PM Modi, CM Stalin said, “Thank you, PM Modi. Had discussed TN having exhausted State Disaster Relief Fund (SDRF) for 2020-21 towards COVID relief and requested to release funds from the National Disaster Relief Fund (NDRF) of Union Government for this cyclone season.”
Thank you Hon’ble PM @narendramodi.
— M.K.Stalin (@mkstalin) November 7, 2021
Had discussed about TN having exhausted State Disaster Relief Fund (SDRF) for 2020-21 towards COVID relief and requested to release funds from National Disaster Relief Fund (NDRF) of Union Government for this cyclone season. https://t.co/Ixia3mEXmN
KKSSR Ramachandran, revenue and disaster management minister, Tamil Nadu, said in a statement to PTI that four people have died in incidents caused by heavy rainfall. One person has been reported injured.
CM Stalin had appealed to people who travelled to their native places to celebrate Diwali, to postpone their travel plans. The government also declared holidays for schools and colleges in Chennai, Tiruvallur, Kancheepuram and Chengalpet districts. The government offices would remain closed while Private businesses have been asked to shift to work-from-home until the situation settles.
Saturday rains caught authorities off-guard
On Saturday, the heavy rainfall caught the authorities off-guard. The teams were geared up to tackle the rains that were forecast on November 10. The New Indian Express quoted N Subbaiyan, Director, TN State Disaster Management Authority saying, “Saturday rains caught everyone off-guard.”
TNIE quoted sources saying that the lack of reliable doppler weather radar was behind the inability to track rainfall. Notably, on the radar network status page on IMD, Chennai’s radar is shown unserviceable during trigger problems. The National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT) radar would be used by the RMC officials, but it would take some time to calibrate and test its accuracy.
The 2015 Chennai Rains
On November 6, 2015, 246.5mm rainfall had hit Chennai in a single day. It was the highest recorded rainfall in ten years. With several parts of the city already submerged and the flood situation going worse, November 2021 may be another difficult month for the metropolis.
