His body was afloat. They prodded it with a wooden pole. A few men then pulled the body out of the floodwaters outside an ATM in Chennai, shows a disturbing video. The city has been experiencing heavy rainfall ahead of a powerful cyclone storm, Fengal, which is set to make landfall in the evening.

The man, who has not been identified so far, was likely electrocuted, said police. An investigation is underway, the cops added. 

Fengal skirted the coast of Sri Lanka earlier this week, killing at least 12 people including six children.

Chennai International Airport has been temporarily shut till 7 pm in view of cyclone Fengal. Waterlogging has been reported from several areas in the city. 

The  India Meteorological Department or IMD has forecast heavy to very heavy rain in Chennai, Tiruvallur, Kancheepuram, Kallakurichi, and Cuddalore districts of Tamil Nadu, and Puducherry.

Scientists have warned that storms are becoming more powerful as the world heats up due to climate change driven by burning fossil fuels.

Chennai:

Heavy rain continued in Chennai and other parts of Tamil Nadu on Wednesday, bringing residential neighborhoods and roads under knee-deep water and leading to traffic congestion besides affecting public transport services. Visuals from the city show incessant rainfall leading to waterlogging in several parts of the city, including the Madley Subway and the Mambalam area.

As parts of the state reel under the heavy downpours, efforts to pump out the water are underway in the city including the Choolaimedu area.

#WATCH | Tamil Nadu | Fresh spell of light rain lashes parts of Chennai city. Visuals from Koyambedu area pic.twitter.com/KIUmbFsnYw

— ANI (@ANI) October 15, 2024

The IMD has issued a red alert for parts of the state with warnings for “very heavy rainfall” on October 17 and 18.

Earlier on Tuesday, streets and roads were flooded with muddy water following heavy rainfall, and garbage was found floating from the Pattalam area of the city.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin on Tuesday took stock of the rain situation in the state capital amid incessant downpours.

Mr Stalin inspected and monitored the rain-affected area in Chennai. While doing so he could also be seen sharing a cup of hot tea with rescue and relief workers.

Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin also inspected the Integrated Control and Command Centre, in Chennai and informed about the situation.

Speaking about the rain situation, Udhayanidhi Stalin informed on Tuesday, “Around 5 cm average rainfall has been recorded in Chennai in the last 24 hours. Things are very much under control. The highest rainfall has been recorded in Sholinganallur and Teynampet area, around 6 cm. No power cuts were encountered in any area in Chennai.”

“Tree falling was reported in around 8 areas and the team is already on duty to clear it. All the trees will be cleared in approximately one to one and a half hours after the rain has stopped. 26 teams from NDRF and SDRF have been readily positioned in Chennai and all the coastal areas. Out of 22 subways in Chennai, two subways have been flooded and the traffic has been closed,” informed the Deputy Chief Minister.

“The pumping motors are ready and draining. Water stagnation has been reported in 300 locations and the pumping work is in progress. Tamil Nadu special health camp for the rainy season was started in 1000 locations all over the state and around 100 health camps have been started in Chennai alone by the concerned department,” he added.

In light of the heavy rain forecast, the Tamil Nadu government declared a holiday for schools and colleges in Chennai, Tiruvallur, Kancheepuram, and Chengalpattu districts on Tuesday.

Earlier, Chief Minister MK Stalin held a review meeting with senior officials and gave necessary instructions following the heavy rainfall. Tamil Nadu Chief Secretary N Muruganandam held a meeting with concerned officials and directed them to make necessary arrangements.

Anticipating the rainfall in the region, residents living around Velachery parked their cars on the Velachery flyover in an attempt to prevent any damage to their vehicles.

An advisory to fishermen was released, telling them not to venture into the seas.

The Chief Minister also instructed the authorities to issue an advisory to allow employees of IT companies in these districts to work from home from October 15 to 18, according to an official release.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Chennai:

The DMK and the Congress engaged in an exchange of posts on X over the issue of water logging in Chennai after Wednesday night’s heavy rains. Sivaganga MP and Congress leader Karti P Chidambaram shared a news clip of water logging in Chennai with a cryptic message that read “Race Road or Rain Road” as he tagged the Greater Chennai Corporation in his post. The post was an apparent dig at the corporation for the state of the road, considering that just a few weeks back Chennai had hosted the Formula Night races.

In his reply to the post from Karti Chidambaram, Saravanan Annadurai the spokesperson of the DMK replied with a jibe questioning if it was possible to gauage the rain’s intensity from the confines of a room.

“Earlier two bit trolls were making this noise. Asking why the rain water has not receded even when it was raining. Now A question to ponder, Will it be possible to gauge the intensity of the rain within the confines of a room?” Sarvanan replied to Chidambaram’s post wrote on X.

Meanwhile, Chennai Mayor Priya Rajan inspected the Perambur subway and surrounding areas on Thursday, where waterlogging occurred following rainfall.

#WATCH | Tamil Nadu: Chennai Mayor Priya Rajan inspects the Perambur subway and surrounding areas where waterlogging occurred following rainfall. She also inspected the ongoing stormwater canal construction works. pic.twitter.com/cA3fQkGsLO

— ANI (@ANI) September 26, 2024

She also inspected the ongoing storm water canal construction works. Parts of Chennai’s Koyambedu area also faced waterlogging following heavy rainfall.

As per IMD, Chennai has a partly cloudy sky with the possibility of moderate rain or thunderstorms.

Chennai witnessed a waterlogging situation in various parts of the city after heavy rain lashed the city on Wednesday night. The rain in the city started after 6 pm yesterday, and it continued late into the night. Power outages and traffic snarls were reported from several parts of the city.

According to the officials, from yesterday 8.30 am to today 5.30 am, Nungambakkam received 7.42 cm of rainfall and Menambakkam received 7.12 cm of rainfall. Tiruvallur, Vellore and Cuddalore districts of the state and Puducherry also received downpours yesterday night.

Valparai weather station in Coimbatore received 8.0 mm rainfall, Thiruttani weather station in Tiruvallur district recorded 5.0 mm rainfall, Cuddalore weather station recorded 0.2 mm rainfall, Vellore weather station recorded 0.4 mm rainfall, and Puducherry recorded 0.3 mm rainfall.

The regional meteorological centre here has forecasted light to moderate rains in north Tamil Nadu till the weekend.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)