There was sporadic rainfall on Thursday after a 24-hourcloudburst dumped as much as 345 mm (14 inches) of rain on thecity earlier this week.
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In a deeply moving and humanitarian effort, India’s numero uno shuttler, Saina Nehwal has donated Rs. 2 Lakh for the victims of the devastating floods that have hit Tamil Nadu, especially Chennai, over the past two weeks. Responding to the request, the Prime Minister announced the immediate release of Rs 1000 crores from the NDRF.
After carmakers and IT outsourcing firms suspended operations on Wednesday, the state-run Chennai Petroleum shut down its oil refinery due to the heavy flooding.
There was some improvement in the mobile telephone services while many areas continued to remain without electricity, with supply disconnected in some parts as a precautionary measure by the authorities. Indian army soldiers rescue a man from flood waters in Chennai, India, Thursday, Dec. 3, 2015.
It already has deployed 200 people on the field, rescuing people from marooned areas. Regarding the help, State Department Deputy Spokesman Mark Toner said, “The USA is ready to assist people of Chennai, Tamil Nadu as they have faced one of the worst flooding in decades”. According to the Wall Street Journal, the runway at Chennai’s global airport was under 7 feet of water Thursday, leaving 30 planes and hundreds of passengers stranded.
Apart from Chennai, Mr. Modi flew over the affected areas of Kanchipuram and Tiruvallur districts and held discussions with Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa on the situation.
The Indian Meteorological Department on Friday scaled down a forecast for very heavy rains, but added that more rain or thunderstorms were likely.
Director General of the force O P Singh said his teams are expected to rescue and reach out to more number of people today as water has receded in some places.
“813 life jackets, 515 life buoys and 20 deep diving sets along with 44 trained deep divers are also engaged to assist the local administration in the humanitarian assistance and disaster relief work”, an official spokesperson for the NDRF said.
“We live in a city expecting that we will have access to basic facilities”.
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More than 5000 houses were under water with many people still trapped on rooftops, while others crowded in relief camps. “Food, clothes – all gone”, she told the Reuters news agency. “In view of the prevailing conditions in Chennai and in the interest of safety of its guests, crew and aircraft, Jet Airways has cancelled all its flights to and from Chennai until December 6, 2015”, the Airways said in a statement.
