Heavy rains cause traffic chaos and flooding in southern Tamil Nadu | Madurai News

Madurai: heavy rain swept away Madurai and other southern districts on Fridays and Saturdays, causing waterlogging and overflowing water bodies. While coastal districts like Kanyakumari and Tuticorin had been on orange alert earlier, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) downgraded the alert to yellow for Southern Tamil Nadu districts over the next two days.
In Madurai, heavy rains accompanied by thunder and lightning started on Saturday evening, leading to water logging on major roads like Masi, Avani Moola, Kamarajar Salai, East Gate and South Gate. The downpour disrupted traffic, especially at busy junctions like Goripalayam, as people thronged the streets for Diwali shopping.
In the 24 hours ending 8:30 am on Saturday, Karaikudi (Sivaganga) recorded 15 cm of rain, followed by Kurunthancode (Kanyakumari) with 10 cm, and Colachel and Neyyoor AWS (Kanyakumari) with 9 cm each. Kodaikanal (Dindigul), Watrap (Virudhunagar), Thirparappu (Kanyakumari) and Theerthadanam (Ramanathapuram) received 6 cm, while Kariyapatti (Virudhunagar) and Periyakulam (Theni) recorded 5 cm and 4 cm, respectively.
In Kodaikanal, heavy rains slowed traffic as tourists flocked to the hill station over the weekend, while waterfalls like Silver Cascade overflowed. Theni district saw flooding at the Kumbakarai Falls, prompting authorities to ban bathing for tourists.
According to the IMD, heavy rain is expected at isolated places in Dindigul, Theni, Madurai, Virudhunagar, Sivaganga and Ramanathapuram on Sunday, with yellow alerts. On the south coast of Tamil Nadu, in the Gulf of Mannar and Comorin area, weather with wind speeds of 35-45 km/h with gusts of 55 km/h is expected. Fishermen have been advised not to venture into these marine areas during this period.