Chennai, Oct 21 — Chennai District Collector S. Malathi Helen ordered the closure of schools across the district on Wednesday following heavy overnight rain and forecasts of further downpours.
The Collectors of Tiruvallur, Kancheepuram and Chengalpattu also declared school holidays as a precaution against the continuing adverse weather. The decisions came after persistent rain lashed Chennai and its neighbouring districts through the night, raising concerns over students travelling to school.
The respective district administrations issued the orders in response to rainfall conditions within their jurisdictions.
In Chennai, Malathi Helen announced the holiday as a precautionary measure following the overnight downpour.
Tiruvallur Collector Kavitha similarly ordered schools to remain closed, citing continuous rain.
The Collectors of Kancheepuram and Chengalpattu issued corresponding announcements after their districts also experienced heavy showers.
Several parts of Chennai received sustained rainfall overnight, while the weather department indicated that further heavy spells were likely. The forecast of continuing rain added to concerns about travel during the morning hours, prompting the administrations to suspend classes for the day.
According to the weather department, a low-pressure area is likely to develop over the southwest Bay of Bengal and the adjoining Tamil Nadu coast. The system is expected to influence weather across Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Karaikal, bringing heavy to very heavy rainfall at places.
The department indicated that the wet spell could persist until October 26. The forecast suggests that rain-bearing weather conditions could continue over the region for several days, requiring district administrations to assess local conditions before taking further decisions concerning schools.
Another low-pressure area is also likely to form over the Bay of Bengal around October 23, according to the forecast cited in the announcements. Its development could influence the continuing wet spell, although the eventual rainfall pattern would depend on the system’s formation and subsequent movement.
For the four district administrations, the immediate priority was to reduce the need for children to travel during the continuing downpour. Wednesday’s school holidays were announced separately by the Collectors based on conditions prevailing in their respective districts. The closure orders apply to Wednesday. Any extension of the holidays would require fresh announcements from the district administrations after reviewing rainfall and updated weather forecasts. No holiday for subsequent days was specified in the announcements concerning the four districts affected by the overnight rain.