Thursday, October 27, 2005

Rains lash Chennai

Ha, what a day its been!

Depressions in Bay of Bengal are a normal thing during this part of the year. And Chennai does receive copius rain during this monsoon period. But its been a little too much this time around. Rains have been lashing for the past 2 days. And the storm is to cross the coast by tomorrow morning (Oct 27, 2005). Normally, the storms cross the coast further north but this time around it may be closer to Chennai & hence this effect.

Been ill for the past few days & that made venturing out impossible. Couldn't come to the office in the morning, being afraid of getting infected going in the storm water. But with no breakfast (except some occasional biscuits), had to come out by the afternoon for food. Bought some packets of Maggi noodles & that was my lunch. With no signs of the rains stopping, no electricity & rain water threatening to enter the house, had to move by evening 5 pm. What better place than our office?

Walked from our flat in Ram Nagar, Madipakkam to the Velachery-Tambaram main road. The rain was light but the winds accompanying it made it look heavy & chilly. It was an experience in itself as people slowly making their way in waist-deep water talked about their fears of reaching safe places & how their homes would be. My Nokia 3315 conked off, thanks to me not taking enough precaution.

The biggest fear for me now is how the house would look when I next visit it. And I don't know when I would next go there, may be tomorrow afternoon. Trichy, my hometown was one of the many districts that got affected too due to the floods in the Cauvery. Farmers have been the worst hit as thousands of hectares of crop lie submerged. With Diwali round the corner, it isn't one of the pleasant festival seasons that Tamil Nadu has seen.

Visit Chennai Help for the latest. I'll try updating the latest here too.