Residents were found to be stocking up on food and essentials that were being sold at inflated prices. A kg of tomatoes was sold for 140 rupees.

“It is clear that if there is another rain shower, we will be trapped in our houses as the roads will be completely flooded,” said Yogesh P from Vijayanagar.

With heavy rains lashing almost the entire city from Monday night to Tuesday morning, the roads leading to St. Thomas Mount Metro were heavily waterlogged on Tuesday afternoon. Despite the increasing frequency of trains, it became increasingly difficult for passengers to reach the station entrance. The parking lots were also closed because water was coming in.

R Kumaran, a retired employee of a private company and a resident of Adambakkam, said, “My son and I were planning to go to our relatives' house in Teynampet. The plan was that he would leave the bike at the subway station and accompany me there.” But since the parking lot is closed, he dropped me here and I have to manage on my own until the rain passes.

Meanwhile, sewage overflow was detected at South Raja Street in Alandur. Motors were used to pump water from the streets. Transport was also severely affected. Eight of the 22 subways managed by the GCC were flooded on Tuesday morning.

Live from ICCC

TNIEA report by the Integrated Command and Control Center (ICCC) stated that residents from areas such as South Thirumalai Nagar in Villivakkam, Ezhil Nagar and Madhavaram near Thanikachalam canal, among others, were calling with complaints of stagnant water. A private hospital in Alandur also reported power outages.

On Tuesday, the ICCC received over 3,800 rain-related complaints, ranging from water stagnation to other issues. While officials claimed that 134 complaints about water stagnation had been registered, they reported that all but 32 of them were yet to be resolved, adding that all eight fallen trees had been removed.

The number of cooking centers in operation was increased from one to 16 by Tuesday afternoon, while 91 boats were prepositioned in vulnerable areas. Fishing boats were deployed in Mullai Nagar, where residents were already struggling with waist-deep water.

(With contributions from Sinduja Jane, B Anbuselvan, Subashini Vijayakumar, Gautham Selvarajan, Nirupama Viswanathan)