Chennai Airport Flooded: Army, Navy out in Chennai amid heavy rain

The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast heavy to very heavy rains in coastal areas of the state till Wednesday. “The state and centre should pay attention to it”, Singh told media.

Responding to supplementaries, he said every 10 years, such heavy rains occur in certain regions and in the past two years, it has occurred in places like Jammu and Kashmir too.

Even in hitherto unaffected areas, people have complained that water entered their homes and roads flooded with surging waters.

All flight operations at Chennai airport were suspended for two hours on Tuesday night and a number of flights disrupted as waters inundated the runway and the tarmac.

Areas effected due to heavy rains..

Parts of Chennai were without power on Wednesday and television footage showed flood-hit residents wading through waist-deep water, many carrying their belongings on their heads or in small boats.

The weather office said a low pressure area would form in the southeast Bay of Bengal during the next 24 hours, warning of more rain in different parts of the state.

Meanwhile, for the first time in 137 years, one of India’s oldest newspapers was not printed due to rains and floods in the southern Indian city of Chennai. “We are monitoring the situation closely and resumption of operations will depend entirely on the weather improving”, Renault India Operations Country CEO and Managing Director Sumit Sawhney said. A flood alert has been declared in Tamil Nadu, which is witnessing worst rains in decades, perhaps a century.

Modi has ordered rescue teams and paramilitary forces to launch an extensive relief and rescue operation in Chennai.

Army and Navy personnel joined teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and state government agencies and voluntary agencies in rescuing the affected people in different parts of the city and other districts.

Water logging on the suburban railway tracks forced the authorities to cancel some services while many trains ran behind schedule.

Heavy rains in southern India since the end of November have killed at least 188 people, Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu Jayalalithaa said.

Many areas in Chennai were flooded, trains and flights were delayed and schools and colleges were closed due to as heavy rain the half-yearly exams which starts from december 7th has been postponed by the government. The Adyar river is still overflowing.