Floodwaters cause extensive damage to vehicles at apartment complex in Pallikaranai

Residents of Pallikaranai shocked as cars washed away in flash flood. Manoj Vishal's car, bought 10 months ago, heavily damaged. Vehicles along OMR and in city partially damaged. Cars displaced, hit pillars, scrapheap-bound. Ruban Kumar expecting ₹30-40K repair costs. All happened in 10 mins, 6 days to regain power, water. Residents living like refugees.

The first shocking visual of the 2023 rain was the video of several cars in an apartment complex in Pallikaranai being washed away in a flash flood. On December 4, a video of the incident went viral on social media, leaving people in utter dismay.

For 27-year-old Manoj Vishal, a resident of Purva Windmere in Pallikaranai, it was a heartbreaking moment when he watched the floodwaters wash away his car. “I bought the car, a Renault, just 10 months ago on EMI. Now, it’s heavily damaged,” he said.

Many vehicles in locations along Old Mahabalipuram Road (OMR) and in the city were partially damaged in the floods, but in this apartment, from smashed windshield to severely dented bumpers, the cars have incurred a lot of physical damage after being pressed against each other or colliding with the walls owing to the force of floodwater.

S. Raja Mohammed, a resident of the apartment, said the water entered with so much force that it broke the compound wall and threw around several vehicles. “Some of the cars were displaced so badly that they landed on parked two-wheelers or other cars. Some even hit pillars. Many of the vehicles are probably going to end up in the scrapheap because of the extensive damage,” he lamented.

Ruban Kumar, another resident, dreaded how much he would have to spend to fix his car. “We don’t even have insurance. We are expecting this to cost us at least ₹30,000-₹40,000. We did not expect this,” he said.

Mr. Vishal said all of this happened in the span of 10 minutes, and they could not fathom what they witnessed. “This was the first car in the family, and we bought it only in January with great difficulty. Now, it’s gone,” he added.

It took six days for the apartment to regain power and water supply. “We were all living like refugees in a camp,” Mr. Mohammed says.