Tamil Nadu Floods, 270 Dead & the resilient spirit of Chennai

[Rajaraja Chola]

Chennai International Airport

Chennai reels under heavy floods following record-breaking rainfall and overflowing lakes. Thousands were left homeless or stranded in their homes without food or electricity. Telephone services too took a hit in many areas.

Live area-wise updates, courtesy chennairains.org:



Area Time Updates
Kilpauk 9.45 pm Water Stagnation in New Avadi road and Water tank road. Power available.
West Mambalam/Duraiswamy Subway 9 pm No power. Subway is still closed and water is receding.
Egmore 8:47 pm Montieth Road. Flooded with thigh-high water. Pazhamudir is open with no milk, bread and vegetables Power available in only some places.
Kolathur 8.45 pm Ankle deep water but power is restored. Not many have cellphone coverage.
Ashok Nagar 8.30 pm Manthope colony, 11th & 12th avenue still water logged. Supplies except milk available. No power and not expected to resume until tomorrow. From Pillar to Udhayam theater there's little to no water. Still no mobile connectivity.
Vadapalani 8. 30 pm Metro Station is crowded and running too. Power in some areas and mobiles working.
Madipakkam to Ram Nagar 8.20 pm Water at hip level. Shops open with milk and water available at double rates.
Anna Nagar/Thirumangalam 8 pm Not raining as of now. Power is back. Shops are open with basic provisions available.
Nungambakkam 8.15 pm Uttamar Gandhi Salai to Sterling Road is water-free. Super markets open. Power is on.
Purasaiwalkam 8 pm Mucky water present. Most areas flooded. Small shops selling groceries. Milk 1/2L @ Rs.45. No electricity as of now. Most areas flooded.
Nandanam/Chamiers road 8.20 pm Water knee high. Venkateswara hospital open. Shops closed and No power available.
Nandanam signal to West Mambalam 8:19 pm Shin level water. Groceries, Tea shops and Medical Shops Open.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday flew to Chennai to take stock of the flood situation. After an aerial survey, he met with Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa and announced Rs.1,000 crore for Tamil Nadu flood relief. He said this is in addition to the Rs. 940 crore which were released by the Centre earlier.

The floods have left over 269 dead in Tamil Nadu and 54 in Andhra Pradesh, said Home Minister Rajnath Singh in Lok Sabha. He described the situation as "alarming".

At the parlimentary meet, the Centre described the situation in Chennai as "worrisome".

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa today conducted an aerial survey of the flood-hit areas in Chennai and sururbs on Thursday.

The India Meterlogical Department (IMD) has predicted heavy rains for the next two to three days in Tamil Nadu.

The Airports Authority of India on Wednesday announced that operations at the Chennai airport will be shut till December 6 due to waterlogging on the runway. Many trains have been cancelled or diverted.

In case of any help and emergency tweet with #ChennaiRainsHelp and you can also look for people offering services or help here.

Latest updates:

8:06 p.m: Trujet Airlines, to operate to Arakkonam naval base airport till December 6, to offer complimentary bus service between Arakkonam & Koyambedu.

7:05 p.m: "Given the alarming situation in TN, we have ordered the suspension of toll collection on all NHs in the state till December 11, 2015," says Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari. He added that an order has been issued to ease rescue, relief & rehab operations being undertaken by various central and state agencies.

6: 53 p.m: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu reaches out to Tamil Nadu.

N Chandrababu Naidu

✔@ncbn
Reached out to TN Govt & offered all possible assistance from AP. I stand by people of Chennai in this difficult time. #ChennaiRainsHelp

8:09 AM - 3 Dec 2015



5:48 p.m: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has sent five crore rupees for relief and rehabilitation work to Tamil Nadu. “People of Bihar are with the citizens of Tamil Nadu in this hour of sorrow,” Nitish Kumar said adding Bihar has been battling natural calamity like flood every year. Read more...

5:10 p.m: "I've directed that Rs.1000 crore be released immediately by Government of India to Tamil Nadu for immediate relief," says PM Modi after meeting Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa. He added that this will be over and above the Rs. 940 crore which was released earlier.

4:40 p.m: PM Narendra Modi reaches INS Adyar in Chennai, meets CM J Jayalalithaa.



4:30 p.m: An official update provided by the NDRF said over 5,000 people have been rescued till now in search and rescue operations in various parts of Tamil Nadu till 3p.m.

4:25 p.m: Regional Meteorological Centre says, "Heavy to very heavy rain will occur at places in North coastal Tamil Nadu, Puduchery with isolated, extremely heavy rain in Delta districts and Karaikal."

4:10 p.m: The Defence Food Research Laboratory (DFRL) in Mysuru is preparing food packets for distribution in the flood-hit areas of Tamil Nadu.

Photo: M.A. Sriram (The Hindu)


4:06 p.m: Train traffic has been hit and it will take time to restore, says Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu - ANI

4:05 p.m: Nearly 400 houses suffered damage in the torrential rainfall that battered Puducherry where rescue operations continue and people have been moved to relief centres as water inundated several parts of the city. Speaking about the situation, District Collector D Manikandan said a total of 383 houses were damaged in the rain. Revenue and other department staff had evacuated more than 1000 rain-hit people to relief centres and more than two lakh food packets distributed since last two days.


3:40 pm: Prime Minister Narendra Modi reaches INS Rajali in Arakkonam. He will take stock of the flood situation by conducting an aeriel survey of Chennai and its suburbs.



3:30 p.m: Air India to operate a special flight to the Arrakonam Naval Air Station from Hyderabad to bring back stranded passengers.

3:20 p.m: The Army and the NDRF undertaking relief in the city. Eleven Army columns to be in position by evening.

Photo: IMD


3:15 pm: Over 100 people taken to safety by teams of the Army, IAF and the NDRF. A seven-month pregnant woman was airlifted today from Medumbakkam, near Guindy, one of the worst-affected areas in the flooded city. Among those evacuated were 50 stranded students of SRM University.

3:00 pm: INSAT image of clouds over Tamil Nadu as of 8.15 a.m. today

Photo: IMD


2:12 pm: Facebook, which has its second largest userbase in India, activated the feature to allow people mark themselves as “safe” from the floods. ...Read more...

2:10 pm: Social networking giant Facebook has activated its Safety Check feature in Chennai that has witnessed the heaviest rainfall in a century.

1:28 pm: College students distribute milk, food etc for rescued people at a school in Madhavaram.

Photo: V. Ganesan (The Hindu)


1:11 pm: NDRF teams have doubled the number of their rescuers in the rain and flood-battered Chennai and adjoining areas to 1,200 even as the force today decided to penetrate deep into the affected areas to aid the marooned. -PTI

1:07 pm: Andhra Pradesh government assures Tamil Nadu that it would look into its demand of reducing the outflow from Pichatur and other dams in Chittoor district as the flow of water is likely to flood neighbouring Thiruvallur district in Tamil Nadu.

1:05 pm: Mr. Modi leaves for Chennai


12:48 pm: Boats being airlifted from the Hyderabad Air Force base to Chennai for rescuing marooned people.

Photo: Serish Nanisetti


12:40 pm: Rain water gushes out in all directions and surrounds Gemini Circle. Vehicle-users put to inconvenience to reach office. Photo: V. Ganesan

Scene at Gemini flyover


12: 37 pm: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa conducts an aerial survey of the flood-affected areas in Chennai and its suburbs. More

A combination picture of TN Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa conducting the aeriel survey. Photo: Special arrangement.

Photo: Special arrangement


12:30 pm: After 48 hours, though there is reduction in intensity of rainfall but we don't see total secession of rainfall for next five to six days: IMD to ANI

12:26 pm: Out of 30, 2 NDRF teams have been deployed in Chennai, says Home Minister Rajnath Singh in the Lok Sabha

12:24 pm: The Indian Air Force(IAF) has pressed into service three aircraft to evacuate hundreds of passengers stranded at the Chennai airport. Airports Authority of India chairman R.K. Shrivastava said that around 250-300 passengers are stranded at the Chennai airport. These passengers will be airlifted from the Chennai airport to Tambaram and Arakkonam airbase of the air force, he added.

12:16 pm: Chennai Mail scheduled to leave Mangaluru at 13.25 hrs is cancelled due to rains in Chennai and adjoining area.

12:12 pm: MeT Dept has predicted heavy rainfall for the next 2-3 days, says Home Minister Rajnath Singh in the Lok Sabha

12:00 pm: Prime Minister to visit Chennai to take stock of the situation arising due to the devastating floods. -PIB

11: 10 am: President Pranab Mukherjee expresses grief over the loss of lives in the flood tragedy in Chennai and hopes that the people of Tamil Nadu will overcome it with fortitude and dignity.

11:00 am: Thousands of residents are fleeing north Chennai, where no rescue services have been operating. There are flash protests across the region, which has not received essential supplies in two days. More.

Chennai floods latest updates: Relief, rescue operation underway, IMD predicts more rains - The Hindu

 

[Rajaraja Chola]

Chennai united: Help pours in from all corners as floods continue

• Sunainaa Chadha, Hindustan Times, Chennai
  |
• Updated: Dec 03, 2015 00:07 IST

People in Chennai have been struggling to cope with the strong deluge, which has flooded large parts of the city. (KV Lakshmana/ HT Photo)
https://goo.gl/onqsb6.

2. http://chennairains.org is a website where you could post your contact details, the number of people, the type of emergency and other details, which is then forwarded to concerned authorities. There’s also a volunteer form where people can enlist to help by picking up stranded people, providing shelter, food, etc.

3. On Facebook, Chennai Rain Relief 2015 - CRR page has also put up a form for people seeking or offering help.

4. Many establishments such as Sathyam Cinemas in Royapettah, Phoenix Malls in Velachery and colleges such as SRM in Kattankulathur and Crescent College in Vandalur have opened their doors to people looking for shelter.

5. In addition to people from across the country offering to recharge phones of people who are stranded, telecom minister RS Prasad on Wednesday announced that BSNL will offer free service for a week in the city, starting on Wednesday.

Airtel too has stepped in and is offering free talk-time credit up to Rs 30 to all prepaid customers in Chennai, while Paytm has begun a stay safe imitative — where you can dial 18001030033 and share the mobile number of the person in need, and Paytm will recharge it with Rs 30 talk-time, free of cost.

https://twitter.com/x/status/671973772468092928

6. Taxi-aggregator Ola has been offering boats to rescue people, while food delivery app Zomato has put together a ‘Meal for Flood relief’ delivery service for people in submerged parts of Chennai https://www.zomato.com/chennai/chennai-flood-relief-nungambakkam/order.

Ms. Starry Eyed @Priyaa_G
Ordered meals for the needy via @ZomatoIN about the only thing I could do from Mumbai. http://zoma.to/chennairelief #ChennaiFloods #HelpTheNeedy

5:39 AM - 2 Dec 2015
Zomato - Food & Restaurant Finder
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Order Food Online from Chennai Flood Relief through Zomato.



7. Practo has released a handy list of verified doctors who can be contacted in case of medical emergencies https://goo.gl/N3LFQd.

8. Urbanclap, a marketplace for local service providers, is offering free pest control services in rain-affected areas of Chennai



9. Facebook page Chennai memes has released a list of websites from where those residing out of Chennai can help by ordering food for those in need.

10. Here’s a list of relief centres and their contact details in Chennaihttp://www.chennaicorporation.gov.in/about-chennai-corporation/Relief_centre.pdf.

11. Also, while some doctors are offering to visit people in their homes, others from Bangalore are willing to drive to Chennai to provide aid.

https://twitter.com/x/status/672002354883923969

#ChennaiFloods From Bangalore to Chennai . ppl in #bangalore supporting #chennaiwith blankets,sheets,towels plastic mat, rice,oil contact

— Arun Kumar Kannan (@ArunKumarKannan) December 2, 2015


12. There is a crowdsourced effort to map inundated roads in Chennai. Over 2,400 flooded roads have been added to Chennai’s map so far Flood Maps.

13. Amidst all the chaos, people of Chennai have shown great heart and human values. We therefore wrap up this list with an inspiring video of people forming a human chain to save a biker from being washed away in a flash flood.

United we stand, indeed!

Chennai united: Help pours in from all corners as floods continue | india | Hindustan Times

Personally lots of things are happening in a scale I have never imagined. Temples, mosques and churches have opened up to people, schools ,colleges and many people opened up their houses for complete strangers, youth's getting down into volunteer work , malls, cinema theatres cancelling their shows to friends doing free recharge to attending to needy.

Also thanks to Facebook and Whatsapp the response have been quick. There is only a something an govt can do. Its the able civilians need to step up.

Personally, I have not been able to contact my own family and friends for over 40 hours. Batteries have run out and mobiles have switched off. ATM's have run outta money. God save Chennai, Cuddalore and Tamil Nadu.

#resilientspiritofchennai

 

[samv]

Reminds me of the time when Tamil terrorists attacked Colombo airport and their supporters were gloating about how they managed to bring a halt to all air traffic. The "mighty Tamils" they boasted. Their supporters in Tamil Nadu were absolutely gleeful.

Maybe KADAVUL exists.

 

[Rajaraja Chola]

Reminds me of the time when Tamil terrorists attacked Colombo airport and their supporters were gloating about how they managed to bring a halt to all air traffic. The "mighty Tamils" they boasted. Their supporters in Tamil Nadu were absolutely gleeful.

Maybe KADAVUL exists.

Such a distasteful low life.

 

[guyhandz]

Pray for Chennai...

 

[Hello It's me]

My prayers with Chennai. Thankfully, loss of life has been a lot lesser due to precautionary measures.

moments of humanity in Chennai

 

[Bang Galore]

Hotel for Dogs to rescue the canines from Chennai flood and bringing them to Bengaluru - Bangalore Mirror

 

[AndrewJin]

@Rajaraja Chola Are u from Chennai? Hope everything going well with you and your family.

 

[Srinivas]

I hope the situation becomes normal again !

 

[samv]

Such a distasteful low life.

What goes around comes around.

Tamils were gleeful when Sri Lanka's airport was attacked by the Tamil Tigers.

Now Chennai's airport is submerged under water.

 

[Rajaraja Chola]

@Rajaraja Chola Are u from Chennai? Hope everything going well with you and your family.

Ya I am from Chennai. But currently in Canada. It did give me goosebumps as or anyone of my friends who reside here and US were unable to contact our family for 48 hours. Power and mobile networks were down.
Thankfully the people I know now are safe. Most of the helps were done by the volunteers from the civilian populations themselves.

 

[Nilgiri]

It did give me goosebumps as or anyone of my friends who reside here and US were unable to contact our family for 48 hours.

Same issue we faced. Though where our relatives live were not the worst affected areas.

I was getting the message that on the ground some parties are already playing a blame game instead of putting heads down and providing help (instead of only talking).

Thankfully the spirit of the people themselves have prevented the worst kinds of situations from happening.

I heard Cuddalore is even in a worse state than Chennai.

 

[Rajaraja Chola]

Same issue we faced. Though where our relatives live were not the worst affected areas.

I was getting the message that on the ground some parties are already playing a blame game instead of putting heads down and providing help (instead of only talking).

Thankfully the spirit of the people themselves have prevented the worst kinds of situations from happening.

I heard Cuddalore is even in a worse state than Chennai.

Ministers of Amma were chasen away. Just saw Sun tv news. People are being wasted on pasting Amma stickers on relief materials.
AIADMK has gone to the worst of lows. Its the citizens of Chennai who came on top. Many of my own friends were out there working as volunteers.

 

[faithfulguy]

Sadly, the western press do not report this news. This should make the news so people of other countries can help out.

 

[ghameed]

What goes around comes around.

Tamils were gleeful when Sri Lanka's airport was attacked by the Tamil Tigers.

Now Chennai's airport is submerged under water.

No Indian Tamil was gleeful when Sri Lanka's airports were attacked by the tamil tigers. Coming to the point at hand, I can only hope there are fewer low-life worms like you in Sri Lanka ....