Chennai rains continue to shatter rainfall records as we move towards the end of November. Extremely heavy rainfall has resulted in inundation and flood-like conditions across the city. In the last 24 hours, from 8:30 AM IST on November 23, Chennai recorded 139 mm of rain.
Good rains over the last 24 hours have pushed the city’s rainfall figure for the month of November to 1185 mm. With this, Chennai rains have surpassed the all-time high for November. This is no ordinary achievement for the city as the previous record of 1088 mm dates back to 1918.
Earliest data from record-keeping points towards a month of quite rare and vigorous Northeast Monsoon conditions in the region. The latest developments about Chennai rains suggest that rain is likely to take a backseat for the next 48 hours or so. This will bring some sort of a relief to the residents of Chennai.
But more rain is forecast from November 27 and intruding waters will continue to pose a threat to the people in the region. Only yesterday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved a Rs. 940-crore relief package for flood-hit Tamil Nadu. Earlier, Chief Minister Jayalalitha too announced a similar package of Rs. 500 crore for the state.
As Chennai rains continue to batter the city, help pours in from every direction. But until the rains subside fully, the water level will not recede. This situation can be compared to Mumbai rains which took a toll on the capital of Maharashtra in June this year. But with Northeast Monsoon churning thunderstorms mercilessly, the conditions in Chennai are much worse than Mumbai.
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