Heavy rain leaves Chennai waterlogged, orange alert in Bengaluru

Heavy rains lashed Chennai and other parts of Tamil Nadu on Tuesday, bringing the city to a standstill.

Residential neighbourhoods and roads were inundated with knee-deep water, causing widespread disruptions to daily life. The relentless downpour led to traffic congestion, crippled public transportation services, and forced the cancellation of several domestic flights. The Southern Railway announced the cancellation of four express trains, including the Chennai Central-Mysuru Kaveri Express, due to waterlogging.

A number of trains were diverted, some were stopped ahead of Chennai Central railway station. The origin station was shifted to suburban Avadi for a few trains. Several domestic flights were cancelled as sufficient number of passengers did not turn up to avail services.

According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the well-marked low-pressure area has intensified into a depression and is expected to cross the Chennai coast on October 17 morning.

“Heavy to very heavy rain with extremely heavy rain at one or two places is likely to occur over Tiruvallur, Kancheepuram, Chengalpattu, and Chennai districts,” the IMD bulletin stated.