As the sequel of incessant rainfall in Chennai since Tuesday morning, the Tamil Nadu government has opened the shutters of the Chembarambakkam reservoir after the lake recorded the overwhelming level of water storage. Several parts of Chennai and the outskirts had received heavy rainfall on Tuesday. 

Chembarambakkam reservoir is one of the water storage systems and a major supplier of water to the city. The lake is located 25 kilometers from Chennai and since the city has been witnessing rainfall, the lake has marked its fullest level following which the government has opened the reservoir at 2 pm on Tuesday. 

According to reports, while the full reservoir level of the Chembarambakkam lake is 24 feet, the water level at the reservoir reached 23 feet at 8 am on Tuesday and the government had opened the shutters to release 500 cusecs of water from the lake to maintain the water level. In a never witnessed meteorological development, Chennai had received rainfall in January within five days into the New Year. 

On Tuesday, Chennai city had recorded 6 cm of rainfall and the recorded level is more than the expected level of 3.7 cm. As per the update from the Indian Meteorological Department, Chennai and parts of Tamil Nadu will receive light to moderate rainfall in the next 24 hours -till Wednesday and these regions would experience cloudy weather. 

Several parts of the city including the downtown and outskirts had witnessed heavy rainfall and the rainfall had inundated important roads in the city, causing heavy traffic jams and disrupting normal lives. The roads will be slippery in most areas of Chennai and widespread rains will be recorded on January 5 and 6 across the state with a few districts expected to receive heavy rainfall. 

According to reports, the areas like Taramani, Kolapakkam, Kelambakkam, and Tindivanam had received 5 cm of rain while Mamallapuram, Tamaraipakkam, Red Hills, Ambattur, and Cheyyur had received 3 cm of rain as of Tuesday morning. 

Several northern districts like Villupuram, Chengalpattu, Chennai, Kancheepuram, Cuddalore, Nagapattinam, and Tiruvannamalai and nearby Puducherry had recorded rainfall and will likely receive rainfall on Wednesday. The IMD had predicted that heavy rains will be recorded over Nilgiris, Cuddalore, Mayiladuthurai, Nagapattinam, and Villupuram districts on Wednesday - January 6.