Wednesday, October 16: The monstrosity of a system that has been brewing over the Bay of Bengal has been keeping the East Coast on its toes this week. Chennai residents, who have been enduring torrential rains over the last few days, in particular, have been on the edge as the low pressure system showed signs of turning into a full-fledged cyclone.
Fortunately, the system seems to have contented itself with intensifying into a depression and nothing more — for now. The India Meteorological Department (
IMD) has announced that this
BoB depression is progressing towards land and is likely to cross over between
North Tamil Nadu and
South Andhra Pradesh, somewhere between Puducherry and Nellore on Thursday (October 17). So it is still dangerously close to Chennai, although the impact might not be as bad as previously expected.
As per forecasts, the
Tamil Nadu capital must brace for up to extremely
heavy rains (more than 204.5 mm) today. A red warning, meaning “take action” has thus been issued in Chennai for the duration. While the intensity will decrease starting tomorrow, an orange alert, meaning “be prepared” will still reign over the city on Thursday and Friday (October 17-18). Over the weekend, the rains will dissipate some more.
Meteorological impacts aside, civic impacts might still be more than Chennai’s infrastructure can handle. Already, the ongoing downpours have resulted in
waterlogging in various parts of the city. Residential areas, key roads and highways all faced severe flooding, with the knee-deep water causing traffic congestion and also leaving many locals stranded. Public transport hasn’t been spared either.
The state administration has ramped up
disaster relief and rescue operations throughout Chennai. However, residents are strongly advised to follow protocol and avoid venturing into the rains unless absolutely necessary.
