Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Vijay has directed all government departments to coordinate closely on heavy-rain preparedness as Chennai responds to intense rainfall, waterlogging, fallen trees and disruption across the city. The instruction was issued during a review of the Greater Chennai Corporation’s northeast monsoon arrangements at Ripon Buildings.
The Chief Minister inspected the corporation’s Integrated Command and Control Centre and reviewed rainfall recorded during the previous two days, along with monitoring arrangements at subways, canals and river mouths. He also sought details of complaints received from residents through the control centre and instructed officials to ensure that each complaint was addressed quickly.
The review followed heavy rain recorded in Chennai on October 17. According to the information presented during the meeting, Parrys received 36 centimetres of rain, Kathivakkam recorded 34 centimetres, and Manali and Ennore each received 21 centimetres. The rainfall occurred within a short period and led to waterlogging at 35 locations across the city.
Municipal teams used motor pumps to remove accumulated water from affected areas. Officials also reported that trees had fallen at 22 locations and were cleared to restore traffic movement. Water was removed from 22 subways where flooding had disrupted movement, and officials told the review meeting that traffic had returned to normal by the following morning.
The city has also prepared 227 temporary relief centres for residents living in low-lying areas that are vulnerable to waterlogging. Municipal authorities provided food to 13,500 people in areas affected by rain-related flooding, according to the figures reviewed at the meeting.
The command centre’s role places it at the centre of the city’s response system, linking public complaints with field-level action during severe weather. The Chief Minister’s instruction comes after an alert for very heavy rainfall and covers coordination among the civic body, police, electricity authorities and other government departments.
During the meeting, the Chief Minister also applauded corporation officials and personnel from other departments for their work during the heavy-rain response. The review included ministers, the chief secretary, the state electricity board chairman, the municipal administration department secretary, the director general of police, the Chennai police commissioner and the Greater Chennai Corporation commissioner.
The administration’s immediate focus remains monitoring vulnerable locations, clearing water from transport corridors, responding to public complaints and moving residents to temporary shelters when required. Officials have been instructed to maintain coordinated operations as the heavy-rain warning remains in force.
