Chennai: The city got a preview of what the monsoon could bring, with 10.5cm of rain falling over 24 hours, ending at 6am on Sunday. The first spell exposed uneven flood preparedness. Overnight operations by more than 15,000 Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) staff cleared 35 waterlogged roads and 16 subways, but parts of north Chennai and Velachery remained flooded because of clogged canals, incomplete drains and stalled work.GCC data showed Parry’s got 36.3cm of rain, Ennore Kathivakkam 34cm, Meenambakkam 28cm and Central 27.4cm. Velachery, which got 2cm, still saw knee-deep water in streets at Bhuvaneswari Nagar, Ram Nagar, AGS Colony and Tansi Nagar. Water receded within hours as pumps were deployed.Geetha Ganesh, secretary of the AGS Colony Residents’ Welfare Association, said water rose to 1ft in some areas. “Most drains here carry water towards Veerangal Odai, which is clogged with garbage and silt. Of the 3.8km-long canal, around 1.5km has been desilted,” she said. Residents flagged encroachments near six vent culverts around Vijayanagar bus terminus and Perungudi railway station.In north Chennai, Prakasham Salai in Broadway and Vyasarpadi Jeeva were among the worst-affected areas. At Vyasarpadi, a flyover project that was due for completion nearly a year ago remains unfinished, along with a drain channel to Otteri Nullah and collection wells meant to prevent subway flooding.GCC commissioner G S Sameeran inspected Prakasham Salai, while municipal administration and water supply secretary Gagandeep Singh Bedi visited Vyasarpadi Jeeva. Chief minister C Joseph Vijay later reviewed preparedness at the GCC control room and told officials to track weather updates and keep flood response ready.Of 21 locations that recorded very heavy to extremely heavy rainfall, 14 were in north Chennai. T K Shanmugam, president of the Federation of North Chennai Residents’ Welfare Association, said, “The desilting and flood-mitigation work began a few months before the northeast monsoon last year, when there was insufficient machinery to complete them. The work was eventually stalled once the rains began.”In Pattalam, resident Ramaboopathy said a 24km stormwater drain built in 2024 was not connected to nearby channels. On Perambur Barracks Road, clogged drains and silt-catching pits caused water to backflow into houses and ground-floor apartments.
