Army and Navy today came to the rescue of hundreds of people severely hit by heavy rains in Chennai that have left several parts of the city submerged.
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A NOTAM (Notice to Airmen) has been issued by AAI, which manages the airport, to all air operators with regard to suspension of flight operations till 6 am tomorrow.
Rathore said Chennai’s airport was in a low-lying area so it would be hard to resume flights till the rains stopped and the water was drained from the runways.
All flights to and from Chennai, including BA 036 due to land at Heathrow at 13.05 today and BA035 due to leave at 14.15, have been cancelled.
Passengers board a partially-inundated escalator.
Tamil Nadu chief minister Jayalalithaa will undertake an aerial survey of the flood-affected areas of Chennai city and its suburbs in Kanchi-puram and Tiruvallur districts on Thursday.
Leading actors of Telugu cinema announced contribution for relief in Tamil Nadu with Junior NTR pledging assistance of Rs. 10 lakh, his actor-brother Kalyanram Rs. 5 lakh, and Sampoornesh Babu announcing Rs.50,000 for relief.
One team comprising 20 sailors (five divers and 15 good swimmers) with Gemini boats and associated gears were deployed last night to Gandhi Nagar near Adyar bridge. “AAI has arranged six buses to evacuate the passengers from the airport”, Srivastava said in New Delhi.
The spokesperson said Chennai airport authorities had initially shut operations till Wednesday morning, but as the rains continued, it chose to extend the shutdown till 6am Thursday. “If water recedes, then only we will be able to do something”. These areas had already suffered heavily during the earlier spells of rains.
A Notam is a notice containing information concerning the establishment, condition, or change in any facility, service or procedure, among others, in airspace management. “The phenomenon will continue for the next seven days, but the next 48 hours are very crucial”.
Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar said more forces will be deployed to tackle the situation.
Since Oct. 1, Chennai has picked up an incredible 1,487 millimeters (58.54 inches) of rain, which is not only more than double the average for that time period (649.3 millimeters) but exceeds their average for the entire year (1,391.5 millimeters).
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The Indian Bureau of Metrology has warned of more storms and flooding in Chennai and Tamil Nadu state over the next few days.
