Giant crocodile seen on Chennai road after heavy rains lash city

Heavy showers continued to pound in Chennai and nearby districts on Monday under the impact of a cyclonic storm, which is likely to cross the coast in Andhra Pradesh on December 5.As the deep depression over the Bay of Bengal intensified into a cyclonic storm 'Michaung' and triggered heavy rain in Chennai. To make matters worse, an X (formerly Twitter) user shared a video of a crocodile spotted on a road in the city during the night. The reptile was found in the Perungalathur area of the city and was seen crawling on the side before disappearing into the bushes. Reacting to the crocodile spotting video, Tamil Nadu additional chief secretary for environment climate change & forests Supriya Sahu urged others to not go near reptiles when they see them, adding that they were shy creatures who avoid human contact. This is not the first recent instance in which a crocodile has been witnessed on the road after a heavy spell of rain.

Stating that the wildlife division has been alerted and they are on the job to avoid any untoward incident, Tamil Nadu forest Secretary, Supriya Sahu said, "There are a few mugger crocodiles in several of the water bodies in Chennai. This one (crocodile) has come out as the water has overflown due to massive rains under the impact of Cyclone Michuang. There is no possibility of harm to humans if these animals are left alone and unprovoked. "Parts of the city were without electricity, and numerous low-lying areas were swamped. According to IMD, most sections of the city under the Greater chennai Corporation's boundaries have received more than 100 mm of rain, including Valasaravakkam (154.2 mm), Nungambakkam (101.7 mm), Sholinganallur (125.7 mm), Kodambakkam (123.3 mm), Meenambakkam (108 mm), and others. Heavy rain also fell in the surrounding districts of Kancheepuram, Chengalpattu, and Tiruvallur. In addition, due to heavy rains and flooding, Southern Railway has temporarily halted suburban train services in all chennai Suburban portions till 8 a.m. on Monday. Only special passenger trains, according to the Southern Railway, will run in these portions.