Flooded Chennai a disaster zone
A flood alert was sounded and the army called out in Tamil Nadu on Tuesday as heavy rain brought traffic to a standstill, hit rail and air travel, submerged 2,000 huts and prompted the government to call off school exams.
CHENNAI: Normal life was thrown out of gear as heavy rains battered Chennai and north Tamil Nadu, with the Met office predicting more of the same in the region over the next three days.
The government issued a flood alert to people living on the banks of river Adyar in Chennai, even as several lakes and tanks overflowed in the city and the neighbouring districts of Kancheepuram and Tiruvallur.
Cuddalore, where the maximum number of people died during the last spell of rain, continued to receive the maximum rainfall, with 16 cm as recorded at 8.30am on Tuesday, followed by Puducherry with 15 cm.
The Met office has said that the weather patterns are due to a slow moving depression over southwest Bay of Bengal.
Several suburban train services in Chennai were crippled, while the Tiruvallur-Chennai suburban trains and Gummidipoondi -Chennai suburban trains were running behind schedule. Trains out of Chennai too were delayed inordinately. Several flights out of Chennai were cancelled and many were diverted. The airport was crowded with hundreds of passengers due to the rescheduling and cancellation of flights. Rainwater flooded the runway, making landing and taking off difficult. The Adyar river was facing a flood threat as water from the Chembarapakkam lake was let out. Authorities issued a threat warning to those living on either side of the river. In Saidapet area along the river, 2,000 huts were submerged.
“I have ordered officials to take precautionary measures before releasing surplus waters from reservoirs and evacuate people living in low-lying areas,” chief minister Jayalalithaa said.
Two columns of army’s Garrison Infantry Battalion have been pressed into service in Tambaram and Oorapakkam after the Tamil Nadu government sought military assistance. The Navy is also on stand-by.. As the death toll in rain-related incidents touched 188, Jayalalithaaa reviewed the situation and deputed ministers to inspect the affected regions.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to Jayalalithaa and assured full support from the Centre. “Spoke to Jayalalithaa ji on the flood situation in parts of Tamil Nadu. Assured all possible support & cooperation in this unfortunate hour,” he tweeted.