Greater Chennai’s flat terrain is turning out to be its undoing with the incessant downpour of the last three days extensively flooding many parts of the city, even as massive rescue efforts are on to move people away from encircled waters as the rains abated on Tuesday morning.
The overall situation is grim but under relative control.
The toll from rain-related incidents rose to eight by Tuesday evening in the wake of the Michaung severe cyclonic storm over the west-central Bay of Bengal. It was closer to Baptala in the evening on the south Andhra Pradesh coast and making landfall, accompanied by windspeeds of 90kmph to 100kmph and gushing to 110kmph, the India Meteorological Department said in a statement.
Tamil Nadu chief minister M.K. Stalin inspected flood-hit areas and reviewed relief and rescue measures. He told reporters in Chennai that 23 teams from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) comprising 575 rescue personnel were leading the rescue efforts in the worst-hit districts of Chennai, Tiruvallur, Chengalpattu, Kancheepuram, Nagapattinam and Mayiladuthurai. Villupuram district has also been affected.
Yet again, Greater Chennai has borne the brunt of the heavy rainfall with major parts of South Chennai alone — Pallikaranai, Velacherry, Madipakkam and Tambaram — recording 73cm of rainfall in the last two days, against an average total rainfall of 60cm for the city during the northeast monsoon season.
Tamil Nadu chief secretary Shivdas Meena, along with other top officials, said the amount of rainfall in other parts of the city and neighbouring districts ranged from a maximum of 34cm in Poonamallee, to 28cm in Avadi (both Tiruvallur district), to 24cm in Chennai North in the last 24 hours.
Stating that the situation was particularly bad in areas like Tambaram and Avadi, Meena said over 8,275 people had been rescued and moved to relief camps.
Asked about a huge lake at Narayanapuram breaching and severely inundating South Chennai, he said boats had already been deployed in those areas and wherever required in neighbouring districts to move people to safer places. In the districts of Chennai, Tiruvallur, Kancheepuram and Chengalpattu, 825 of the 900 petrol/ diesel outlets have started functioning, he added. Mobile services are also coming back, depending on the power supply in the respective areas, Meena said.
While electricity supply in Chennai was being restored in phases on Tuesday after the rain stopped, more downpour is expected. Chief minister Stalin said massive dewatering operations had begun in the worst flood-affected areas, and in Greater Chennai alone about 1,000 water pumps had been deployed.
The state government has declared holidays for colleges and schools on Wednesday
too.
