 "An aerial view of the Chennai airport, submerged as a result of heavy rain, on Wednesday")
Hundreds of thousands struggled to cope without basic necessities on Thursday as floods caused by the heaviest rain in a century kept Chennai marooned for a second consecutive day, leaving 269 people dead and more than 150,000 homeless.
The army, navy and air force continued to rescue people from the worst-hit areas and supply food packets to the stranded. Although the showers subsided on Thursday morning, weather agencies warned of more rainfall over the next two-three days.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Chennai to take stock of the situation. After an aerial survey of the city with Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa, Modi announced an immediate relief package of Rs 1,000 crore. "The government of India stands by the people of Tamil Nadu in their hour of need," said Modi.
In Parliament, Home Minister Rajnath Singh said the situation was "alarming" and at least 269 people died till Thursday afternoon. "There are no two opinions that the situation in Tamil Nadu is alarming. It is not an exaggeration to say that Chennai has turned into an island," Singh said. He added all roads and highways leading to Chennai were closed. In several places, power supply and communication lines were down, adding to the misery.
The home minister said eight army columns have been sent to Chennai to help in relief and rescue.
In the morning, home Secretary Rajiv Mehrishi convened a meeting of the Crisis Management Group in New Delhi, which was attended by officials of ministries of defence, food, railways, agriculture, health, IMD, Department of Telecommunications and the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF). In the evening, Cabinet Secretary P K Sinha chaired a meeting of the National Crisis Management Committee and asked government departments to provide relief in a coordinated manner.
The Adyar river was flowing above the "danger mark", as surplus water from the Chembarambakkam lake was let into it in order to prevent further flooding of the metropolis. The worst affected were the poor, more than 150,000 of whom took shelter in makeshift government camps.
Several hundred passengers remained stranded at the railway stations, including the main Chennai Central. Most trains were cancelled.
As authorities struggled to deal with the disaster, activists, film stars and executives started campaigns on social media, including Twitter and Facebook, for rescue and relief. Assocham termed the situation as "total chaos." It attributed the disaster mainly to "unplanned growth".
"Authorities in all metros should review their disaster management plans at regular intervals and make long-term plans to improve drainage systems," it said in a statement.
Some relief came on Thursday from the weather department, which downgraded an earlier forecast for heavy rainfall to "light to moderate" for the next few days in the city. When asked if the worst was over, L S Rathore, director general of the Indian Meteorological Department, told reporters: "Hopefully. We have to be watchful for the next 48 hours."
Chennai saw a record 1,218.6 millimetres of precipitation in November, three times more than normal, according to private forecaster Skymet. The northeast monsoon typically sets in between October and December over east coast.
Radio stations and television channels formed partnerships to help people reach out to families and authorities, while Twitter started as many as three hashtags to connect the stranded and rescue volunteers. Facebook activated its recently-introduced "Safety Check" feature that identifies and checks on people in the vicinity of natural disasters.
Power outages to prevent electrocutions added to the misery.
NDRF chief OP Singh said in New Delhi that over 100 boats, 22 divers, 445 life jackets and 328 buoys have been pressed into service. Airlines, including state carrier Air India, announced that they would allow refund or free of charge rescheduling for its Chennai flights that were cancelled. NDRF has doubled the number of its personnel in Chennai and adjoining areas to 1,200 and rescued 5,000 people.
Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari said he had ordered suspension of toll collection on all national highways in Tamil Nadu till December 11. Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Thursday sent Rs 5 crore to Tamil Nadu for relief and rehabilitation work. Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu said the railways have pressed into service special trains to provide food packets, medicines and shelters at various stations. He said food and water packets were being distributed free of cost to stranded passengers.
