The central government is trying to provide all possible help to Tamil Nadu which is facing unprecedented floods, Urban Development Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu said on Wednesday.
The minister told the Lok Sabha that the army, navy and the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) had been pressed into service to help the distressed people.
He said the situation in the state was "unheard of and unprecedented", and Home Minister Rajnath Singh would hold a high-level meeting to discuss the situation in the state.
"We are very concerned and are with people. We need the army to help people in Chennai to shift them to safer places," he added.
Naidu said some 400 passengers were stranded at the Chennai airport, and he had asked the authorities to provide them food and other help.