The coastal parts of Tamil Nadu may have to prepare for another spell of intense rain. The low-pressure area, which formed on Monday, will intensify into a depression and trigger extremely heavy rain over parts of the State. The India Meteorological Department has issued a red alert in several coastal and adjoining districts, including Chennai, for Wednesday and Thursday.
The low-pressure area is likely to become a depression over south-west and adjoining south-east Bay of Bengal by Wednesday. It may move west-northwestwards, reach near north Tamil Nadu coast in the early hours of November 11 and bring another spell of widespread rain in the State. The rain is expected to be extremely heavy in some parts.
While rain will cover most places of the State till November 13, the IMD has forecast heavy to very heavy rainfall — up to 20.4 cm — at a few places on Wednesday in nearly 11 districts, including Chennai and its neighbouring districts, Madurai, Tenkasi and Perambalur. The weather system may trigger an extremely heavy rainfall of above 20.4 cm at one or two places in the Cauvery delta districts and Cuddalore, Villupuram, Pudukottai, Sivaganga, Ramanathapuram, Puducherry and Karaikal. Heavy rain is possible in other districts like the Nilgiris and Vellore.
Rain may gradually increase over north coastal and adjoining districts on Thursday as the system moves closer to the Tamil Nadu coast. Torrential rain is expected in Chennai and its surrounding districts and Villupuram and Tiruvannamalai districts on November 11. Ten other districts, including Salem, Dindigul and Ranipet, may get very heavy rain in a few areas.
S. Balachandran, Deputy Director-General of Meteorology, Chennai, said the weather models indicated that the system would intensify as depression. It was being monitored for its movement and strength. Some parts in Chennai may experience very heavy rain on Wednesday and extremely heavy rain by November 11.
On Tuesday, Mamallapuram and Cheyyur in Chengalpattu district received 12 cm each and 10 other districts registered heavy rain at nearly 15 places. Karaikal recorded the heaviest of 16.3 cm between 8.30 a.m. and 5.30 p.m. on Tuesday. Nagapattinam recorded 15.2 cm and Thanjavur 7 cm. Nungambakkam in Chennai registered 1 cm.
The IMD has issued a warning for fishermen as squally wind with speed reaching up to 65 km an hour may prevail along and off Tamil Nadu and south Andhra Pradesh coast.
Water release from the Poondi reservoir, one of the city’s major sources of drinking water, was increased to 5,000 cusecs (cubic feet per second) at 10 a.m. as more inflow was expected from the Ammapalli dam in Andhra Pradesh. Water Resources Minister Duraimurugan and Minister for Milk and Dairy Development S.M. Nasar visited the reservoir. At present, the reservoir has storage of 2,712 million cubic feet (mcft) against the full capacity of 3,231 mcft. The discharge from the reservoirs in Red Hills and Chembarambakkam is kept at the same level.
