After being battered by heavy rains on Thursday, Chennai received some respite on Friday.

The weather office said the deep depression, which lay centred 150 km northeast of Chennai, was moving in a northwesterly direction and was likely to cross between Nellore and Machilipatnam in Andhra Pradesh on Friday afternoon.

 More rains forecast in TN, AP

The downpour would come down in Tamil Nadu while Chennai might face a few spells when the depression crosses the coast, the met office said.

Chennai experienced 42 cm of rain in 40 hours between Wednesday and midnight last.

Meanwhile, the death toll in rain-related incidents has gone up to 65, with one more death reported due to electrocution in the city.

 Impressions: A wet day in Chennai

The city is limping back to normal, with buses, most of which were off the roads, starting to ply.

In most places, corporation authorities have drained the water.

Meanwhile, the government has declared a holiday for all educational institutions in Chennai, Kancheepuram and Tiruvallur districts on Friday.

There were no reports of any major spell of rain on Thursday in any other part of the state, barring Chennai.

 Tamil Nadu seeks army help

The rain, which crippled normal life, has brought copious inflows to the lakes supplying water to the city.

Airports Authority of India sources said the runway was 'fully available' and that normal services were being maintained.

Railway sources said that long distance train services, which were suspended on Thursday after incessant rain flooded the tracks, are expected to resume by afternoon.

 Army out to plug Cauvery breaches

Meanwhile, Kancheepuram district collector R Venkatesan said the Palar and Cheyyar rivers were overflowing and that authorities had diverted the waters to 85 lakes in the district.

There were no reports of water logging in the district even though revenue officials had been put on alert, he said.

Readers say: 'Chennai needs rain'