Chennai rains: IMD withdraws red alert, flight arrivals resume. Read here

The red alert for Chennai indicating extremely heavy rainfall, is withdrawn he said. The Minister for Revenue and Disaster Management, KKSSR Ramachandran also said that the weather system has started crossing the coast near here.

Chennai airport has also resumed normal operations. The airport had suspended incoming flights till 6 pm due to strong crosswinds. Passengers have been asked to contact the concerned airline(s) for flight schedules, the airport tweeted.

As many as 14 people have died in the Tamil Nadu during days of heavy rains. Several districts in the state were on high alert as a depression over the southwest Bay of Bengal was set to cross northern Tamil Nadu today evening. 

The heavy rains first struck over the weekend, hitting the capital, Chennai. Pictures and videos from the city showed residents wading through knee-deep waters and vehicles nearly submerged in the heavily flooded roads.

Two people died in a span of 24 hours, said N Subbaiyan, the director of the state’s disaster management, adding that the other 12 were killed over the past few days.

At least 800 huts have been destroyed this past week by the rains, said Kumar Jayant of the state’s revenue department.

Multiple teams of the National Disaster Response Force have been deployed to help local authorities with rescue efforts.

In Chennai, which is among the worst hit, officials have evacuated hundreds of people from vulnerable areas. Authorities have also set up over 100 relief centers and distributed free food, according to reports.

The rains this week are among the heaviest to hit the city since 2015.