Chennai: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa will undertake an aerial survey of the flood-affected areas of Chennai city and its suburbs in Kanchipuram and Tiruvallur districts tomorrow.
Advertisement
The heaviest rainfall in over a century caused massive flooding across Tamil Nadu, driving thousands from their homes, shutting auto factories and paralysing the airport in capital Chennai.
Ford India too has suspended operations at its Chennai plant. We need much more because the situation is so grave and the help that has come is not enough.
DG MeT Department Laxman Singh Rathore said, “Extremely heavy rainfall has been occurring for sometime and today Tamil Nadu has witnessed 35 cm of rainfall that has created havoc”.
The state government has also asked all private firms to declare a holiday for employees on December 3, 4.
The flight operations at the Chennai Airport have been closed for the whole day because of the flooded water on the runway.
The non-cease torrential rains pounding the town since final night time confirmed some let up within the morning however the inundated streets left commuters stranded. The authorities have already canceled all flights and the trains have also stopped running, due to water on the tracks. Around 40 Malaysian students have been stranded by the floods as rain continues to lash the city.
Rivers and lakes in the region “have become saturated and don’t have the capacity to take in any more water”, he added.
Heavy rain will continue to batter Chennai for at least the next 48 hours before relenting and moving on towards southern Tamil Nadu, weather forecasting agencies warned on Wednesday. Railway bridges in some areas had been washed away.
Schools have been forced to close and exams have been postponed at least for this week.
Advertisement
He had blamed climate change for the heavy rains that hit the southern state last month, tweeting before attending the United Nations climate summit in Paris this week: “We are feeling the impact of fast-paced climate change”.
