Torrential rains to continue in flood-hit Indian state

The act of kindness was spotted in Chennai in Tamil Nadu in India as the state suffers massive flooding caused by its heaviest rainfall in more than a century.

Authorities said thousands of rescuers carrying diving equipment, inflatable boats and medical equipment were also battling to evacuate victims across the flooded state. Chennai’s airport will stay shut for at least a week and some 25 jets are stranded, Deepak Shastri, the airfield’s director, said by telephone from the city.

He said 186 people had been reported killed in the floods, now in their fourth week.

MK Kanimozhi, a politician from Tamil Nadu, told the upper house of India’s parliament that torrential rains had adversely affected crops and cattle.

“We are hopeful of passenger flights landing there from tomorrow”, Press Trust of India quoted Defence Ministry sources as saying. Even in the few ATMs that were open, serpentine queues were witnessed and people stocked up on supplies in the wake of more rains being forecast for the coming days.

“The situation is a little grim”.

A high-level meeting was also convened by the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi to discuss measures to deal with the flooding.

“The situation was bad and the water level was increasing”, Jenson, resident of Sunambu Kolathur of Kanchipuram district said. “People are marooned all over”, Tamil Nadu lawmaker Kanimozhi, who uses one name, told the national parliament.

On Thursday, Chief Minister Jayalaliathaa conducted an aerial survey of the flood-hit areas in Chennai and its suburbs.

TVS Motor Co., which makes motorcycles and scooters and is based in Chennai, fell as much 6.3 per cent – the most since September 1 – after saying the rains in the past three weeks adversely affected production and sales.

Rathore pointed out that most reservoirs in the region are already full, forcing many dams to let out water, which is why water is starting to pile up in the low-lying areas.

“If we look at the disasters in the last five years, from Kashmir to Uttarkahand, if we see the trend, it becomes clear that it is because of climate change”, he said.