As Cyclone Michaung nears, Chennai airport shut till 11 pm, roads flooded amid heavy rain

Visuals of cars parked in parking spaces in residential areas floating due to the flooding were shared on social media. As per reports, Five Furlong Road that connects Guindy and Velachery caved in and the roof of a petrol pump nearby was also damaged due to the incessant rain.

The rain also knocked down the power supply and several residents said they have been without electricity for the past 24 hours.

Cyclone Michaung | Follow live updates here

The cyclone also impacted flight services as several flights departing and arriving from Chennai experienced delays. As per officials, the airport has been closed for arrival operations till 11 pm.

Holiday in 4 districts

Meanwhile, the Tamil Nadu government also declared a public holiday in four districts of Chennai, Chengalpattu, Tiruvallur, and Kancheepuram.

Chief Secretary Shiv Das Meena issued an order on Sunday under the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881, saying that these four districts are likely to receive heavy rainfall and strong winds on Monday due to the cyclonic storm.

“All government offices including the offices of public undertakings/corporation boards, banks of financial institutions, etc, in Chennai, Kancheepuram, Tiruvallur and Chengalpattu districts will be closed on Monday,” the order read.

Chennai Rains | Follow Live Updates here

The government has directed private companies to provide their employees with a work-from-home option and only ask those to come to the office whose presence is necessary.

All essential services, hotels and restaurants, and others engaged in disaster response, and relief and rescue activities will function as usual, according to the order.

Subways closed, rescue ops on

Tamil Nadu Minister for Municipal Administration K N Nehru visited the Integrated Command and Control Centre (ICCC) at Ripon Building in Chennai, to review the relief and rescue measures that are underway.

The state government also nominated 17 IAS officers to monitor flood mitigation and rescue works for Chennai, Tambaram, and Avadi corporations.

The Greater Chennai Corporation has requested people to stay indoors amid the extreme rainfall alert, with 340 mm of rain until early morning on Monday.

Visual from a relief centre in #Tambaram: A total of 679 members have been temporarily accomodated here. In case of any emergency, the residents can dial 1800 425 4355 /1800 425 1600#ChennaiRains #CycloneMichuang pic.twitter.com/2450ibuoQK

— Janardhan Koushik (@koushiktweets) December 4, 2023

As per the latest bulletin issued by the weather department, Perungudi (Zone 14) recorded the highest with 29 cm in the last 24 hours, followed by Avadi (Tiruvallur district) with 28 cm, and Alandur (Chennai district) with 25 cm.

As per the latest communique, 17 subways are closed in the city due to heavy rainfall and 16 trees have fallen and the efforts are on to remove them.

In other corporations, including Tambaram, personnel of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) are on duty carrying out the rescue measures. On Monday, the NDRF rescued residents from areas like Sriram Nagar and accommodated them in a relief centre.

As of now, 697 people from Tambaram and other surrounding areas flooded with rain, have been rescued and temporarily accommodated in relief centres.

The residents have been asked to contact the control centre at 1913 (Chennai Corporation) or dial 1800 425 4355/1800 425 1600 (Tambaram Corporation), or 1800 425 5109 (Avadi Corporation) in case of any emergency.