Rain disrupts normal life in Chennai

Incessant rains in Chennai since Wednesday disrupted normal life. Most of the offices in the city decided to close for the day while work in factories outside Chennai was partially affected. IT companies such as Infosys and Wipro too closed their development centres for the day.

However, some of the chemical plants located at the northern end of Chennai functioned. An official of Chennai Petroleum said the company's refining operations would continue because staff on duty would keep the refinery running till people on the next shift took over.

While Ashok Leyland and Ford Motors closed for the day, Hyundai Motor carried on as usual.

A Met official said that Chennai recorded 40 cm of rainfall in two days. The average rainfall recorded for the last three months is 43.2 cms, he said .

The rain left arterial roads in knee-deep water resulting in traffic snarls. The situation was worsened by strong gusts of winds with several trees being uprooted. The meteorological centre has forecast heavy rain for the next 24 hours.

A spell of intense rain between 3 am and 8 am on Thursday affected incoming international flights. The flights were diverted to Bangalore.

Officials at Southern Railway said that train services from Chennai to other states had been cancelled.

The situation would continue till tomorrow noon because rail tracks to Arakkonam junction - the route for trains leaving Tamil Nadu - were under water.

50,000 evacuated

A media release by Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa said that 50,000 people were evacuated from low-lying areas and accommodated in relief centres organised by Chennai Corporation.

The Armed Forces have been alerted to provide immediate assistance along with the civil administration, the release added.