The southern Indian city of Chennai (Madras) is experiencing a respite from rains, but forecasts of more showers remain in place.
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The Indian Air Force continued to engage in relief and rescue operation, named “Operation Madad”, in Chennai, which is hit by torrential rains and adjourning areas.
The US has offered assistance to India in meeting the humanitarian challenge posed by the Chennai deluge and condoled the loss of lives in the worst flooding faced by the city in decades.
As rains halted on Thursday and early Friday, some shops opened in parts of flooded Chennai including Mylapore and Teynampet.
Although services are generally operated between Chennai beach and Tamabaram, trains are now being operated only between Egmore and Tamabaram and that too only on the main line, southern railway officials said.
The state of Tamil Nadu witnessed higher-than-anticipated rains throughout November.
On December 2, AAI had announced that the airport would be shut till December 6 after heavy rains caused flooding of the runway and nearby operational areas.
Seema Agarwal, a resident, said she had seen many people queuing at bus stops to leave the city.
Despite combined rescue efforts by the military and civilian emergency services, help has yet to reach many areas.
One video showed residents forming a human chain through perilously fast moving flood waters to rescue a stranded pedestrian.
“We have rescued more than 10,000 people till now”.
Fourteen patients admitted in an intensive care unit of a private hospital died due to power failure following floods, a top official said yesterday. Experts say the floods in the city are most directly linked to the El Nino weather pattern, when the waters of the Pacific Ocean get warmer than usual. “This will in any case be a matter of investigation”, he said.
Chennai: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday announced Rs.1,000 crore to Tamil Nadu for flood relief work.
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“What is heartwarming is that the people of Chennai are helping out”, said Arun Ebenezer, who has been forced to stay with a friend for three days after rain began to beat down on Tuesday. “We have lots of food, we have volunteers ready to go, but we don’t have the boats”.
