North Chennai on alert as Murasu nears coast

North Chennai on alert as Murasu nears coast

City records 7.6 cm rainfall; 11 flights cancelled; Thiruvottiyur & Manali may receive heavy overnight showers.

Moderate showers on Kamarajar Salai, on Monday; (inset) people queue outside a Tasmac outlet near Kasimedu fishing harbour, holding umbrellas. Photo | P Jawahar/P Ravikumar

Express News Service

Updated on:

03 Nov 2026, 6:35 am

CHENNAI: The Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) on Monday put Thiruvottiyur and Manali on alert for heavy overnight rain as Cyclone Murasu approached the south Andhra Pradesh coast, with NDRF and SDRF teams mobilised as a precautionary measure.

Meanwhile, flight operations at Chennai International Airport were disrupted on Monday, with 11 services cancelled due to adverse weather conditions triggered by the cyclone, according to airport sources.

GCC commissioner GS Sameeran said the cyclone was expected to make landfall between Nellore and Narsapur between 11.30 pm on Monday and 3 am on Tuesday. Though a direct impact on Chennai or Tamil Nadu was not expected, its outer bands could bring strong winds and rain to coastal areas, he said.

“Thiruvottiyur and Manali will be our focus areas. We have instructed our GCC field staff to take precautionary measures. Additional equipment was also being provided,” Sameeran told reporters on Monday.

A 30-member NDRF team from Arakkonam has been stationed at Ramanathapuram in Thiruvottiyur equipped with diving gear, life jackets, lifebuoys and emergency medical equipment. SDRF teams have also been mobilised as backup.

As far as flight operations are concerned, Tiruchy was the worst affected, with four IndiGo flights cancelled, grounding both daily round trips. These were 6E7357 and 6E7363 from Chennai, and 6E7358 and 6E7364 from Tiruchy.

Three flights connecting Chennai and Vijayawada were also cancelled — 6E7304 and 6E7306 arriving in Chennai, and 6E7305 departing for Vijayawada. Rajahmundry and Kadapa also saw two cancellations each, effectively grounding one round trip on both routes. Of the 11 cancellations, five were departures from Chennai and six were inbound flights, airport sources said.

Chennai received an average of 7.60 cm of rain between Sunday evening and Monday morning. All 21 subways remained open to traffic on Monday. A corporation official said minor inundation reported in Thana Street, Mullai Nagar, and Vyasarpadi was cleared during the day.

As of 7 pm on Monday, public grievance portals received 237 complaints of water stagnation, 32 of fallen trees and 144 relating to streetlights. In Perambur, a tree on Sivagnanam Street fell onto the roof of a house and two parked two-wheelers early on Monday, and also damaged a water pipe. Sembium police, fire and rescue personnel and GCC workers removed the tree and cleared the road.

In Abiramapuram, a roadside tree fell on Dr Rangan Road in the wee hours on Monday, damaging a car. In Adyar, a 50-year-old tree got uprooted on First Cross Street in Karpagam Garden and fell on the roof of a nearby house on Sunday night. Corporation workers cleared the fallen trees, and no casualties were reported.

Meanwhile, GCC commissioner GS Sameeran on Monday flagged off 12 vehicles from the Ripon Building premises to carry out immediate repairs to the potholes.

According to a GCC status report, 2,128 potholes and road patches remained to be fixed, as of November 1. The civic body said it had repaired 6,808 potholes and patches by October 31 and allocated Rs 21.80 crore for the work in 2026-27. It has also proposed procuring 13,000 bags of cold mix, weighing 325 tonnes.