Chennai, 27 Oct 2026: As the northeast monsoon intensifies across Tamil Nadu, 14 people have died in thunder and lightningrelated incidents, Revenue Minister K.A. Sengottaiyan said on Monday. Meanwhile, Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay visited Chembarambakkam reservoir on Monday afternoon to review water storage, inflows and discharge levels amid the possibility of further heavy rainfall.
The State Government has provided relief assistance to the families of those killed in lightningrelated incidents, the Minister said.
A bus driver was killed in a landslide in the Nilgiris district, while the conductor sustained a fracture in his hand and was undergoing treatment. The government has sanctioned Rs 4 lakh as compensation to the deceased driver's family, Sengottaiyan said. Heavy rainfall in Coimbatore and Tiruppur districts led to waterlogging in several areas. However, the accumulated rainwater was cleared by early Monday morning, restoring normalcy, the Minister said.
The administration had taken immediate steps to drain stagnant water and minimise inconvenience to residents. Warning of the possibility of sudden spells of intense rainfall in parts of the Western Ghats, he said the situation was being closely monitored. Mean while, approximately 3,500 acres of agricul tural crops have been inundated in Nagapatti nam district following heavy rain. Officials are assessing the extent of the damage to deter mine farmers' losses and recommend further relief measures.
Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay visited Chembarambakkam reservoir, one of Chennai's major drink ing water sources, on Monday afternoon to assess its storage position and preparedness for increased inflows during the northeast monsoon. As of 6 a.m. on Monday, the reservoir's water level stood at 14.76 feet against its full reservoir level of 24 feet. Its storage was 1.488 thousand million cubic feet (TMC), against a total capacity of 3.645 TMC, account ing for approximately 41% of its capacity.
The reservoir was receiving inflows of 150 cusecs, while 208 cusecs was being discharged, primarily to meet Chennai's drinking-water requirements. A smaller quan tity is also supplied for industrial and irrigation purposes. Officials from the Water Resources Department and the Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board were expected to brief the Chief Minister on water availability, inflow and discharge patterns, and measures to ensure uninterrupted drinking-water supply.
The review also focused on the pre paredness of reservoir bunds, sluice gates and flood-protection infra structure to handle heavy rainfall and prevent flooding in downstream areas. Reservoir storage improves.
Fresh monsoon inflows have improved water storage across Chennai's major reservoirs. As of 6 a.m. on October 26, the combined storage in six major water sources serving the city stood at 5.725 TMC, or 43.3% of their total capacity of 13.222 TMC. With the northeast monsoon gaining momentum, authorities are monitor ing reservoir levels, rainfall and catchment conditions to manage incoming water safely while maintaining adequate supplies for Chennai. The government is also continuing to assess rain-related damage and provide relief to affected families and farmers as further spells of heavy rainfall remain possible across parts of the State.