Residents here were stocking up on groceries and essentials that were being sold at high prices. One kg of tomatoes was sold for Rs140.

“It is clear that if there is one more rain, we will be trapped in our houses as the streets will be completely flooded,” said Yogesh P. of Vijayanagar.

With heavy rain lashing almost the entire city from Monday evening to Tuesday morning, roads leading to St Thomas Mount Metro were severely waterlogged on Tuesday afternoon. Even with the increase in train frequency, it became very difficult for the travelers to reach the station entrance. The parking lots were also closed because water flowed in.

R Kumaran, a retired employee of a private company and resident of Adambakkam, said, “My son and I were planning to go to our relatives’ house in Teynampet. The plan was for him to park the bike at the metro station and accompany me to But since the parking lot is closed, he dropped me off here and went back home. I have decided to stay with my family until the rain passes.”

Meanwhile, overflowing sewage water was found on South Raja Street in Alandur. Motors were used to pump water from the streets. Transport was also seriously disrupted. Eight of the 22 GCC-run metros were flooded by Tuesday morning.

Live from ICCC

TNIEreporting from the Integrated Command and Control Center (ICCC), noted that residents from South Thirumalai Nagar in Villivakkam, Ezhil Nagar and Madhavaram near Thanikachalam canal, among others, came forward with complaints of water stagnation. A private hospital in Alandur also reported power cuts.

The ICCC received more than 3,800 rain-related complaints on Tuesday, ranging from water stagnation to other problems. While officials claimed that 134 complaints of water stagnation had been registered, they reported that all but 32 complaints were yet to be resolved, adding that all eight fallen trees had been felled.

The number of operational cooking centers was increased from one to 16 on Tuesday afternoon, while 91 boats were pre-positioned in vulnerable areas. Fishing boats were deployed in Mullai Nagar, where residents were already facing waist-high tides.

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