Overview

• Two days of heavy rain left Chennai with widespread waterlogging, flooded roads and inundated airport runways, disrupting road and air travel on Diwali.
• Nilgiri Mountain Railway services were suspended after landslides and earth slips blocked tracks between Kallar and Coonoor, according to Southern Railway.
• The IMD forecasts heavy to very heavy rainfall across multiple Tamil Nadu districts through October 22–24 and expects a low-pressure area to form over the southeast Bay of Bengal around October 21.
• Fishermen have been advised to stay ashore as strong winds and rough seas are expected, and flash‑flood guidance highlights risks of flooding and landslides in parts of the Western Ghats and northern coastal belts.
• Chief Minister M.K. Stalin reviewed preparedness, ordered readiness of relief camps and possible relocations, and the Greater Chennai Corporation expanded relief centres from 116 to 215, while a private observer said cyclonic intensification is unlikely even if the system crosses the coast around October 23–24.