Tamil Nadu is bracing itself for heavier rainfall in the next 48 hours as the meteorological department has issued an orange alert in many districts, including Chennai.
Since Saturday, the state has been receiving incessant rainfall after a low-pressure area formed in the southeast part of the Bay of Bengal and moved towards the state.
As of yesterday, Chennai had already received the highest rainfall since 2015, while schools and colleges were asked to remain shut for two days. The IMD has said that the state has received 41 per cent excess rain during this northeast monsoon period.
Several districts like Madurai, Nagapattinam and Pudukottai have also announced holidays for schools and colleges as heavy rains are expected on November 10 and 11.
There have been five rain-related deaths over the last three days, while 263 huts and 70 houses have been reported damaged. Over 300 people are now being accommodated in relief camps.
The central region of Chennai has been the worst affected in the state capital, particularly localities close to the Cooum, Buckingham Canal and Adyar rivers.
On Monday, many residents were seen moving out of their homes in areas like Anna Nagar and Kodambakkam as power supply was cut and the streets were waterlogged.
North Chennai has been badly affected as the roads have been inundated since Sunday, particularly in several low-lying areas.
The Chennai civic authority has announced that they will be providing free food in slums and low-lying areas, while private firms have been asked to allow employees to work from home.
Since this morning, the Poondi reservoir, one of Chennai's major drinking water sources, has been releasing water at 5,000 cusecs as the water body is expected to receive more inflow by evening.
On Monday night, southern coastal districts Kanyakumari, Tirunelveli and Tuticorin received heavy rainfall, but interior districts were spared.
The National Disaster Response Force will deploy more than 20 teams in coastal areas of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, anticipating extreme rainfall in the region over the next three days.
