North Chennai was left reeling late at night on Saturday, August 30, as a cloudburst caused flooding and power outages in various parts of the city.
The area saw 180 to 270 mm of rainfall between 10 pm and 12 pm on Saturday, with Manali town receiving the highest at 270 mm. New Manali Town and Wimco Nagar also received rainfall at 260 mm and 230 mm. Madhavaram, Puzhal and Vyasarpadi were also hit by intense rains.
The heavy volume of water discharged in a short period of time led to waterlogging in several areas. Residents said the lack of proper desilting, interlinking of existing stormwater drains and the inadequacy of the number of stormwater drains had led to the rapid flooding of these areas.
According to a report by the Times of India, the interlinking of stormwater drains is pending in about 30 places. Meanwhile, a lack of coordination between different government departments has led to newly laid roads being dug up for stormwater drains in areas like Puzhal.
The rains also caused power outages in many areas of Chennai. Areas in north Chennai, including Manali, Red Hills, Puzhal, Vyasarpadi, Washermenpet, and KKD Nagar, were without power for more than three hours
Avadi, Pattabiram, Pallikaranai, Koyambedu, Nungambakkam, and Choolaimedu also faced power disruptions.
The disruptions were attributed to faulty components in a high-tension 11 kv line and were replaced overnight. According to TOI, the Tamil Nadu Power Distribution Corporation Limited (TNPDCL)’s customer service app, Minnagam, registered around 3,500 complaints between Saturday evening and Sunday.
Flight schedules were disrupted as flights from France, Delhi and Mangaluru scheduled to arrive in Chennai were diverted to Bengaluru.