Heavy rains cause traffic snarls in India’s Chennai

Chennai, Tamil Nadu [India]: Traffic moved at a snail's pace, and commuters faced severe road jams as rains lashed parts of the Chennai district on Sunday evening.

The Regional Meteorological Centre (RMC) in Chennai has forecasted rains over various districts in Tamil Nadu for the next seven days.

The RMC also predicted heavy rains at isolated places over ten districts of the state for Sunday.

"Heavy rain is likely to occur at isolated places over Villupuram, Tiruvannamalai, Ranipet, Vellore, Tiruvallur, Chennai, Ramanathapuram, Thoothukudi, and Tirunelveli districts and Puducherry," it said.

Earlier on Saturday, heavy rainfall in the Western Ghats caused a flash flood at the Old Courtallam Falls at the foothills of the mountain range in Tamil Nadu's Tenkasi.

Due to this flooding, tourists are prohibited from bathing near the waterbodies adjacent to the Old Courtallam Falls, which is a major tourist attraction in the district, an official said.

Several tourists visited the waterfalls, but many said they were disappointed to find out that they were not allowed to bathe in the water body since Saturday is a weekend.

Tamil Nadu has witnessed unprecedented rains this year. At first, Cyclone Michaung brought heavy rains to Chennai and surrounding districts, leaving a destruction trail. Recently, Tamil Nadu's southern districts witnessed heavy rainfalls.

Due to the rains, the state has incurred heavy losses of public and private property, running into crores.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin sought Rs 12,000 crore in central assistance and Rs 7,300 crore of immediate relief for the damages in the flood.