In Chennai, which has a population of about 4.5 million people, factories have been closed, power has been turned off and the airport has been shut down as inhabitants scramble for cover.
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Thousands of passengers were left stranded at the worldwide airport.
The Airports Authority of India has issued a notice to all air operators in this regard. Earlier, Modi spoke to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa and assured her all possible support and cooperation from the Centre, he added. The Navy has also been deployed to assist in the operations.
Speaking to Anadolu Agency by phone, Chennai resident A. Faizur Rahman said: “North and south Chennai are inundated”.
Federal Defense Minister Manohar Parrikar said 15 NDRF teams, each consisting of 40 personnel, were helping effected populations evacuate by airlift and by boat.
Singh said he is in constant touch with the Relief Commissioner of Tamil Nadu.
“Water came into our apartment and we had to shift to our neighbour’s house on the first floor”, Revathi Vasan, resident of west Mambalam, said on Wednesday. Chennai Airport has been shut with all arrivals and departures cancelled for the day.
Areas in Vadapalani, Valasaravakkam and Nandamvakkam have been flooded as nearby lakes overflowed into the city. Should the river overflow its banks, the flood damage could become much worse.
Areas effected due to heavy rains. “At many places the roads have caved in”.
Elaborating about the sequence of rainfall, Mahesh Palawat, director of Skymet, told IANS: “The occurrence of the rain in Tamil Nadu was in three phases”.
It has rained 34 of the last 40 days and the heavy-rain-warning continues, according to CNN meteorologists.
One local lawmaker urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government to declare a national disaster so that more rescuers and relief would flow to the state.
And the severe weather shows no sign of easing as a meterologist predicted three more days of torrential downpours.
A man carries a girl through flooded streets in Chennai, India, on December 2.
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The Hindu newspaper, a Chennai icon, failed to print for apparently the first time in its 137-year history as workers could not reach the printing plant, NDTV reported.
