This is twice the monthly average for December, which stands at 191 mm, and is also the highest ever recorded in the city. Frighteningly, the previous day, December 1, the city received 272 mm of rainfall in the span of just 12 hours, breaking a century-old record for the most rainfall in 24 hours. The previous record, set on December 10, 1901, saw 261.6 mm of rainfall.
This comes just a couple of weeks after heavy rain had already crippled the city in November. This is the season the northeast monsoon in southern India, which usually receives rainfall in two spells, the other being the southwest monsoon. June-September marks the southwest monsoon’s period, while October-November marks the northeast monsoon, which is essentially the movement of the monsoon winds out of the subcontinent, especially the northeastern parts.
The Indian government’s meteorological department had already predicted that the northeast monsoon would be 111 percent in excess this year, where anything above 110 percent represents a flood risk. However lack of urgent governmental action compounded the problem of already existing poor infrastructure and bad urban planning, resulting in flooding in many parts of the city. Unfortunately, due to canals having been blocked by silt or illegal constructions, many flooded areas continue to be flooded even after two days, leading to mass movement of thousands of people out of these areas. In total, 50,000 people are stranded and 300,000 have been left homeless. 270 people have lost their lives.
Chennai is also a major IT and automobile manufacturing hub. Weeks of incessant rainfall and flooding have had a major impact on economic activity. Tata Consultancy Services and IBM, two major IT players have shut down their offices for now and invoked contingency plans so other centers can take up their project load. Eicher Motors, the maker of the Royal Enfield motorcycles, lost production to the tune of 4,000 bikes after the November rains. December has brought no respite, with its factories shut since the December 1 rains. “The floods caused by the rain have also impacted logistics and our supply chain,” the company told Quartz. BMW, Ford, and Renault, all of which have production factories in the city have shut production, while the Chennai Petroleum Corp has put its 210,000 barrels a day refinery in hibernation for now. The industry lobby, Associated Chambers of Commerce of India, estimated the economic loss due to the rains so far at 2.25 billion USD.
The next couple of days are set to provide some relief for Chennai, with the depression moving to the state’s interior.
