 "Rescuers shift patients from a flooded hospital after heavy rains in Chennai on Tuesday")
For a straight 15 hours on Tuesday, torrential rains pounded Chennai, causing the Chembarambakkam lake to overflow its banks, and leading to a deluge of near-Biblical proportions, the likes of which, say old-timers, hasn’t been seen in the past 100 years.
Between 8.30 a.m. and 11.30 p.m., the city recorded 236 mm rainfall, the heaviest rainfall since 2005 October in a single day. And yet, the rains show little sign of easing up.
AN URBAN DISASTER
The volume of rain is clearly way more than the city can handle, and way more than what the city has endured over the past fortnight, say reports.
Making things worse was the inability of residents to access rescue teams provide by the state government, Ola Cabs, NTL, and others.
Travellers are stranded as Chennai Airport has cancelled all flights for Wednesday due to flooding on the runway; a number of hotels are also refusing to extend guests’ stay.
A senior official of an automobile company who was visiting from Mumbai said that he was supposed to take a Mumbai flight Wednesday afternoon. Now, not only has his flight been cancelled, but the hotel is also refusing to extend his stay.
There are power outages in many parts of the city; mobile phone connectivity in various parts has also been hit, making it harder to residents to reach out for help.
Business Standard also tried calling the numbers given by various departments, as well as those provided Ola Cabs, NTL and others, but all of them were continuously busy, suggesting that they, too, have been overwhelmed, either by callers or by the waters.
In effect, the city has ground to a halt – schools, colleges, IT companies, factories and other commercial establishments are shut.
And unlike the clouds, which have hung over the city for close to a fortnight now, there’s seems to be little good news on the horizon – weather forecasts say the rains are likely to continue for the next 24 hours at the least.
AT NATURE'S MERCY, AND STRANGERS'
Krishnan, an IT professional staying at Jaffarkhanpet, close to West Mambalam, in the heart of the city, told Business Standard that the water level in his house has increased since 10:30 p.m. Tuesday, forcing him to move to the second floor from the ground floor. His car, too, has been washed away by the floodwaters, and his attempts to reach rescue team have been unsuccessful so far.
A number of people, especially those working in the city’s IT hub, remain stranded at their offices as roads have virtually turned into waterways. Similarly, at Mahindra World City, people are staying at guest houses inside the office complex. Even those who working and living within city limits have not been able to return home.
Jaishankar, who works at Annasalai and stays about 5-6 km away at T. Nagar, said he had to stay back in office as all the connecting bridges and subways are inundated. Thankfully, he told Business Standard, a colleague offered him a place in his house for the night.
Not everyone is as lucky. Balaji, who works in the city, spent the night on the streets because the suspension of train services meant he could not reach his house at Maramallai Nagar
The Indian Army is out in the city to provide succour, as it tends to do when urban services collapse, to thousands of people who have been forced to leave their homes.
However, despite the sinking, stinking mess that the city has become, there are acts of humanity that stand out: Wedding halls, malls, theatres, colleges, people living in nearby areas have opened their hearts and doors for the people who are affected by the floods.
Meanwhile, ten teams of the National Disaster Relief Force (NDRF) have already been deployed in Tamil Nadu, and another five teams comprising 300 personnel are on their way to the state.
More teams are on standby in Odisha and Bihar, to be airlifted to Chennai once operations at the city airport restart, reports said.
The US consulate has rescheduled all visa interviews to Wednesday.
Meanwhile, all flights in and out of the city have been cancelled for Wednesday due to flooding on the runways.
Singapore Airlines to Chennai have been diverted to Bengaluru, while stranded passengers have been advised that the flight will return to Singapore.
Chennai rain (between 6.30 p.m to 8.30 a.m. Tuesday, in mm)
| Kattankolathur (near SRM University) | 368 |
| Katupakkam (near SRM University) | 310 |
| Chembarabakkam | 302 |
| Thiruporur (near Kelambakkam) | 281 |
| Cheyyur | 233 |
| Kolapakkam | 216 |
| Palavedu (near Avadi) | 211 |
| Puzhal Agro | 193 |
| Poonamalle | 193 |
| Taramani | 180 |
| Anna University | 177 |
| Chennai AP (Meenambakkam) | 175 (till 5.30 p.m. Tuesday) |
| Avadi | 174 |
| Chennai City (Nungambakkam) | 165 |
| Puzhal | 157 |
| Redhills | 148 |
| Hindustan Unviersity | 139 |
| Madhavaram | 123 |
| Minjur | 104 |
