'If this is the state of Poes Garden...': Road collapse in Chennai's posh locality shows extent of city's flood-related damage

The caving of a road in Chennai's posh Poes Garden area has become emblematic of the heavy floods that brought the city to its knees. Cyclone Michaung brought strong gusts of winds and torrential rains, which left the city nearly submerged. 

Visuals from the area, also shared by cricketer Ravichandran Ashwin, showed a massive hole in the middle of the road and an electric pole collapsing into it. The city has been plunged in darkness in the last 24 hours as massive floods left the city completely battered.

"Hang tight for another day everyone. Even if the rain stops, recovery is going to take a while," said Ashwin on X platform while sharing the visuals of the caved road in the posh locality.

Poes Garden in south Chennai is an area where former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalitha lived at her residence Veda Nilayam. Top Tamil actors like Rajinikanth and Ajith also live in this area.

Netizens reacted to the visuals of the caved road and couldn't believe their eyes.

"If this is the state of infrastructure at Poes Garden, can't even imagine what every other part of the city is going through," said an X user.

Cyclone Michaung wreaked havoc across Chennai and its neighboring districts, inundating the city, causing disruptions in flights and trains, and startling residents with a video capturing a crocodile crossing a submerged road. The relentless downpour, reminiscent of the 2015 deluge, paralysed daily life, prompting authorities to declare a public holiday and dispatch rescue teams to aid a city besieged by torrential rains.

Residents hurried to purchase and replenish supplies, with a high demand for drinking water. The continuous downpour resulted in power outages and internet disruptions.

Transportation services took a severe blow, with numerous trains and flights canceled. Waterlogged roads presented challenges for the scarce number of road users. Operations at the Chennai airport have been halted till 9 am on Tuesday, with about 70 flights canceled due to incessant rains and waterlogging affecting the runway and tarmac, as stated by the Airport Authority of India.

In the past 24 hours, Perungudi in Chennai received 29 cm of rainfall, while Avadi in Tiruvallur district recorded 28 cm, and Mamallapuram in Chengalpet received 22 cm. The weather office warned of continued heavy rainfall and strong winds in the four districts.

The India Meteorological Department’s update detailed the trajectory of Cyclone Michaung, projecting its movement towards the south Andhra Pradesh coast and its expected crossing between Nellore and Machilipatnam on December 5.

To manage the situation, the Tamil Nadu government declared a public holiday for educational institutions, government and private offices, financial institutions, and banks in Chennai, Tiruvallur, Kancheepuram, and Chengalpattu districts on Tuesday. Private companies were urged to enable work from home for employees in affected regions.

With inputs from PTI