Weather experts say the seasonal northeast monsoon was responsible for the flooding in the city of at least 6 million, which like many other parts of India lacks an adequate drainage system.
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There are almost 150 Tamil families residing at various parts of the city that remained glued on the TV and watched most of the Tamil channels to know about their relatives. The administration in Tamil Nadu as well as the Centre in New Delhi was informed about the possibility of rains three-four days ago.
With more rain comes the threat that the river Adyar, which runs through Chennai, will overflow and make the flooding worse.
“The biggest challenge is to find a way to clear the inundated airport and main roads”, said Anurag Gupta at the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) in New Delhi.
“At least 10,000 police personnel and trained swimmers are being deployed to help with the rescue effort”, said Chennai police chief JK Tripathy.
Thousands of passengers were left stranded at the worldwide airport in the state capital Chennai after flooding on the runway forced the cancellation of dozens of flights.
Century’s worst rain that hit the South Indian city of Chennai has claimed lives of 188 people till date.
India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi cited the floods as a effect of climate change in his weekly radio address on Sunday, a day before meeting with world leaders at a global climate summit in Paris.
“The entire state machinery has collapsed”.
Army and naval rescue teams have joined several teams of National Disaster Response Force to help evacuate residents stranded in low-lying areas.
According to reports, three lakes in Kanchipuram district were breached due to heavy rains and inflows.
However, this season Tamil Nadu alone has witnessed 50 per cent excess rainfall by December 1 itself. The government has declared a holiday for schools in Chennai and neighbouring Kanchipuram district. Flood water has marooned the suburbs with strong spells of rain for the last few days.
IMD Director General L S Rathore said that although the intensity of rain will lessen after 72 hours, but it will continue to pour for about a week. Unlike other states, Tamil Nadu prides itself on not rushing to the Central government with a “begging bowl” for funds at the first sign of crisis, the official told Firstpost.
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The Chennai Corporation has announced Emergency Contact Numbers for all the regional zones in the city.
