After facing massive effects of the incesant rainfall in various districts of Tamil Nadu, the Indian Meteorological Department on Thursday withdrew red alert for Chennai and few other districts indicating extremely heavy rainfall. The alert had been issued for state capital Chennai and the Tiruvallur, Ranipet, Vellore, Salem, Kallakurichi, Tirupattur, and Tiruvannamalai districts.
"The depression has started crossing coast. During the past six hours, it has moved with a speed of 16 kilometer per hour and the landfall process will continue for the next two hours," Deputy Director General of Meteorology, S Balachandran said.
Heavy rains over Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh are likely to decrease from tomorrow, said the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) in a tweet on Thursday.
This update comes after the weather department said, as the depression over the Bay of Bengal will cross the coast between north Tamil Nadu and south Andhra Pradesh on Thursday evening, weakening subsequently.
The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) meanwhile notified that the low-pressure area over the Bay of Bengal has converted into a depression causing heavy rainfall in a few parts of Tamil Nadu and is likely to cross the Chennai coast near Mahabalipuram by this evening.
On the other hand, Chennai airport has returned to normal operations after suspending arrivals between 1.15 pm and 6 pm over fears of crosswinds. Passengers have been asked to contact the concerned airline(s) for flight schedules, the airport tweeted.
Rains continued to lash various parts of the city and its suburbs on Thursday, leading to inundation in many areas like KK Nagar even as a number of subways and roads in many parts of the metro were closed for vehicular traffic.
Police said trees were uprooted in places like Egmore and Perambur. As many as 14 people have been killed in various rain-related incidents in the state so far.
Schools and colleges have been closed in Chennai and other districts for a fourth straight day, and several areas in the capital city remain waterlogged for a fifth straight day. The government has urged people to stock up on food and fresh water and stay home. They have been asked not to leave unless it is an emergency.
The north-east monsoon, which brings the bulk of rainfall to Tamil Nadu, has been active for the past fortnight and many parts have been receiving incessant rainfall since Sunday.
