Chennai:

As Chennai was hit by heavy rain through the night, the Tamil Nadu capital recorded 21 centimetres of rain till 8.30 am this morning, leaving several low-lying areas of the city flooded.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) had forecast heavy rain this morning.

An environmentalist journalist, Sangeetha Rajeesh, living at Puzhithivakkam near Madipakkam in South Chennai spoke of how water had entered her apartment complex.

“There’s three feet of water in the car park itself. Three under-construction sites nearby have blocked the storm water rains and waters are entering the houses,” she said, explaining the situation.

In Chennai’s KK Nagar, residents had to wade through knee-deep waters.

“Interiors of KK Nagar are badly affected with stagnation up to mid-leg level at all intersections, adding to the unfinished sewage/metro waterworks in the area making commute difficult and dangerous,” said Dr Raghavan, who had gone to drop his father at the airport this morning.

In Anna Nagar, several areas remain flooded.

Videos show several cars and two-wheelers partially submerged as a result of waterlogged roads.

“Water has entered some homes. Some areas have waist-level waters. On my lane, on the 19th street, drainage remains blocked, no electricity and it’s pouring. I am worried about delivery people who brave this,” said Chennai resident Marie Banu.

Water has also entered several homes in Kolathur, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin’s constituency.

“Was lucky enough to get a neighbor’s big vehicle to shift my sick uncle who was in sick bed surrounded by water inside the house,” Edward Thompson, a resident of the area said.

With all the lakes around Chennai swelling, waters are set to be released from the Chembarambakkam lake this afternoon — an 85.4 feet-high lake, where the water level has already reached 82.35 feet.

Officials have issued a flood alert in the Kancheepuram and Chengalpattu districts, particularly on the banks of River Adyar.

“We will not have flooding during this regular discharge. If there is excessive rain, leading to excessive discharge, then we anticipate flooding in areas around Muduchur like 2015,” a senior officer told NDTV.

In 2015, Chennai was flooded due to sudden excessive discharge from the Chembarambakkam lake, as a result of which water had entered around four lakh homes.

Water is being released from the Poondi lake as well.

Mr Stalin, who had discussed preparedness with collectors yesterday, is visiting 14 waterlogged areas in the city including Egmore, Padi bridge, Padi Bridge and Jawahar Nagar.

He had instructed officials to “monitor water levels in lakes and dams and to ensure no inconvenience to public”.

Following a request from the state government, the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has deployed a team each to Trivallur and Chengalpattu districts, and two teams to Madurai from Arakkonam.