Other side of early morning rain on 29-Oct-09

Familiarity breeds contempt. This is what happening in the case of rain, as Chennaiites, who were desperately hoping for the opening up of sky in the last one month or so, are now seeing the otherside of it. Though the rain brought relief to the residents, who were reeling under the scorching sun, intermittent showers in many parts of the city and its suburbs last night uprooted around 20 trees besides injuring a man.

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At the Public Works Department Quarters in K K Nagar, a huge tree fell on one Nehru (37). With heavy injuries on one of his legs, he was admitted to a private hospital. Rain played havoc at the Ashok Nagar police station, a few yards from K K Nagar, as the wireless system got damaged after a lightning strike. Following this, the police station was isolated from the network for the whole night. The case was no different in other parts of the city too, as waterlogging was the order of the night in streets including arterial roads in many areas. As a result, this morning, office-goers on vehicles and students had to suffer a lot. Besides, around 20 trees were uprooted in places like Virugambakkam, K K Nagar, Boag Road, Kodambakkam, Egmore (where a car was smashed near Rajarathinam Stadium), L B Road and Thiruvanmiyur. Meanwhile, the Met Office today predicted more rains thanks to the onset of the northeast monsoon. 'Heavy rainfall is expected in coastal Tamilnadu and Puducherry. More rain is in store,' an official told News Today. In the forecast, valid up to Friday morning, the department predicted rains or thundershowers in many places across coastal Tamilnadu and Puducherry and at a few places in interior Tamilnadu. It also issued a heavy rainfall warning for some parts of coastal Tamilnadu and Puducherry. Presence of mist was reported from certain parts of the city, although the Met department ruled out its possibility. On Wednesday, Chennai recorded a minimum temperature of 22.8 degree Celsius. In Chennai city and its suburbs, during the next 48 hours the weather will be generally cloudy with one or two spells of rain or thundershower. Tamilnadu heavily depends on the north-east monsoon not only for the 'samba' crop and other agrarian activities, but also for its reservoirs. About 48 per cent of the State's annual rainfall of 945 mm is received during this season, according to reports