With Chennai logging 2174 mm of rain (Nungambakkam area) as of 5.30 pm today, December 30, the city has crossed the annual rainfall recorded in 2015 (2095 mm) — the year of devastating floods — according to Weatherman Pradeep John. Though rains were expected over the New Year week, the amount of rainfall has taken Chennai by surprise. T Nagar that saw severe inundation during both the previous spells of rainfall in Chennai this year, is water logged yet again. Traffic jams due to the water logging are also being reported.
A resident of Pinjalasubramaniam Street, next to Chennai Silks, North Usman Road, tells TNM that rain water has run off from the road into the compound of the flats. “The situation is awful. The electricity board just came and cut the power. There is no proper storm water drain in this street, so the water is seeping in,” she says.
Another T Nagar resident who lives on Mothilal Street also says that water is flowing in from the road. “If these rains continue the water will come into the ground floor soon. My 90-year-old mother had to be carried to the first floor as a precautionary measure. I’ve been making SOS calls but no one has come. In November the flooding was just as bad along with which we didn’t have power. Fortunately, we moved the main board higher up so for now the electricity connection has not been cut,” he says, “No measures have been taken to prevent flooding from re-occurring since the last spell of rain in November. Is this what they mean by Smart City?”
Images of an innundated apartment complex in Mothilal Street, T Nagar
Speaking to TNM, Dayanand Krishnan a storm water drainage consultant for the Greater Chennai Corporation says that T Nagar’s drain system requires a serious overhaul. “T Nagar’s Smart City project has not paid enough attention to the storm water drains works, this is the reason for the kind of flooding witnessed today.” He also says that the size of the drains varies extensively from ward to ward in T Nagar, most of which cannot handle heavy flooding. “For example, in ward 136, we see a lot of reverse gradient flows and very narrow drain size affecting the flow of flood water. These are the reasons for severe inundation,” he adds.