Late tonight, the Airport Authority of India announced that Chennai airport will remain shut till December 6 in the wake of the battering downpour and predictions of more rains in the next 72 hours.
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Amidst all the hue and cry over the effects of climate change, Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar on Wednesday refused to link the rain-ravaged situation in Tamil Nadu directly to climate change, saying it was natural calamity.
Thousands of people who were living on the banks of these rivers have been moved to temporary shelters.
Torrential rains pounded several parts of Chennai and disrupted the normal life.
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). Chennai has been battling rains since early November due to slow-moving low pressure over southwest Bay of Bengal. Faculties and schools are close in six districts as a result of rains.
Residents were seen climbing out of their homes or being pulled out to safety in the low-lying parts of Chennai where water is nearly neck-deep.
Federal Home Minister Rajnath Singh, who attended the meeting with Modi, told reporters that he had spoken to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa Jayaram and assured her of the federal government’s help. Runways of the airport have been flooded and arriving flights have been diverted to neighboring states of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.
Jayalalithaa told Modi that the state machinery was geared up to tackle the challenges. Because of this, essential services like buses, taxis, flights, and trains were also suspended.
Television images showed brown floodwater lapping at the wheels of stranded aircraft Wednesday and families wading sometimes neck-deep in inundated streets.
Water logging on the suburban railway tracks forced the authorities to cancel some services while many trains ran behind schedule.
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S.P Selvan, deputy inspector general of the National Disaster Response Force, has also warned of a “grim” situation in the region, where “some urban areas are totally flooded”.
