Now Reading: Chandigarh inundated after 72.4 mm rain in two hours
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Chandigarh inundated after 72.4 mm rain in two hours
Chandigarh was left waterlogged after 72.4 mm of rain fell in just two hours on Tuesday evening, with water more than three feet deep at some places. The flooding brought the city…
Chandigarh was left waterlogged after 72.4 mm of rain fell in just two hours on Tuesday evening, with water more than three feet deep at some places. The flooding brought the city to a standstill, inundating roads, markets and houses, and stranding commuters for hours. Rainwater entered homes in Sector 16 and damaged phones and cameras in mobile shops in Sector 22.
A road cave-in on Madhya Marg was caused by a burst stormwater drainage pipeline, which officials said was aggravated by the intense rainfall. The city's drainage system, designed in the 1950s to handle about 15-20 mm of rain per hour, was overwhelmed by the average 36.2 mm per hour. The N-choe, a main stormwater carrier, was already near saturation, reducing capacity. Residents and councillors said road gullies are often cleaned only on paper, and the Mayor blamed the administration for not clearing the choes properly.
Indian Opinion Analysis
Chandigarh's drainage network was built for a population of about 5 lakh, but the city now houses over 11 lakh people, with impervious surfaces multiplying. The design standard of 15-20 mm per hour is outdated for climate-intensified short-burst rainfall. The Municipal Corporation and UT administration have been trading blame for years over maintenance of V3 roads and stormwater channels, with no coordinated asset audit. Tuesday's cave-in on Madhya Marg underscores the risk of unchecked subsurface erosion, a failure mode that is invisible until collapse. The real test will be whether the administrator's directive translates into a pre-monsoon audit of all underground utilities before the next heavy spell.
Source: hindustantimes.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
