10cm rain in 4hours chokes up Chennai, hits motorists hardest

CHENNAI: A massive 10cm of rainfall in four hours walloped an already battered city, left hundreds stranded, created chaos on the roads, blacked out many parts of the city and claimed at least two lives.
Traffic was severely hit with floodwaters again rising to shoulder level and higher in some localities, submerging vehicles and motorists, and slowing traffic to a crawl on arterial thoroughfares like Anna Salai and Poonamallee High Road.Hundreds of motorists and commuters in public transport were stuck in traffic congestion for several hours.
After the Met office said the city will receive more rain on Tuesday, though of lower intensity, the district collector announced holiday for schools and colleges.
Travellers missed trains from Chennai Central as traffic slowed to a crawl on Anna Salai. It took more than two hours for people to travel a distance which could otherwise be covered in 15minutes.The heavy rain that started at around 4pm continued till late in the night, flooding at least 100 neighbourhoods. Gandhi Mandapam road was flooded near Birla Planetarium paralysing movement of vehicles from Kotturpuram to Adyar and Guindy.
The key stretches including Anna Salai, GST Road, Poonamallee High Road, Arcot Road, Sardar Patel Road, Perambur barracks road, Dr Radhakrishnan Salai, CTH Road, ECR and OMR were jammed because of waterlogging and breakdown of traffic signals.
Corporation of Chennai did not evacuate people today though rainwater flooded neighbouhoods and roads. Officials said that they were confident to drain out flood water. However, more than 2,000 people continued to remain in in relief camps. Pallikaranai neighbourhood were flooded after Pallikaranai lake overflowed.
The heavy downpour on Monday evening disrupted power supply in the city and outskirts. TNEB officials, as a precautionary measure, cut power supply to many areas.
"We had to cut electricity in flooded areas after the heavy rain to prevent people from getting electrocuted," said a senior TNEB official, noting that a couple died when a live cable snapped and fell on their motorcycle in Velachery on Sunday night.
Residents in parts of Velachery, Kotturpuram, Villivakkam, Royapettah, Virugambakkam, Vepery, Foreshore Estate and other areas complained of power cuts soon after it started raining around 4pm. "I came back from office at 8pm after spending nearly three hours on the road in the rain. My two-wheeler moved inch by inch. When I reached home there was no power. I have no idea when the supply will be restored," said IT official K Kothandaraman, a resident of Royapettah.