Chennai Floods: Jayalalithaa Demands Rs 5000 Cr For Relief And Rescue Ops

Tamil Nadu was also hit by heavy rain last month after a storm made landfall in Cuddalore.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who took an aerial survey of the flooded city, later met Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa and offered Rs 10,000 million ($149 million) for flood relief operations from the National Disaster Response Fund.

The army, navy and air force continued to rescue people from the worst-hit areas and supply food packets to the stranded.

With more rain forecasted by the Indian Meteorological Department, Malaysian students and tourists stranded at the Tamil Nadu capital of Chennai have sought help from the Malaysian Consulate-General’s Office.

He said all highways leading to Chennai were closed.

PM said, “I have seen the damage and misery caused by the extremely heavy rainfall”.

IAF has employed four Medium Lift Helicopter, One Advance Light Helicopter (ALH) and 05 Chetak/Cheetah for the rescue and relief operations.

The Cabinet Secretary asked the Ministries concerned to provide necessary assistance in a coordinated manner to the state government, ensuring that the rescue and evacuation of the people is their top priority, the release said.

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.

Many spent the night at makeshift shelters across the city, including the Tambaram railway station that housed stranded passengers.

Some Malaysians, when contacted, said they were anxious over hotels in the city running out of food and power which were available only for few hours. Most trains were cancelled. Assocham termed the situation as “total chaos”.

“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.

Meanwhile, people in rain-battered Nellore, Chittoor and Prakasam districts heaved a sigh of relief as the overcast skies cleared on Thursday and the rain god relented after three days of intermittent downpour. “We have to be watchful for the next 48 hours”.

“This year saw the strongest El Nino ever recorded”, said GP Sharma, vice president of meteorology at Skymet, a private weather forecaster.

India’s main monsoon season runs from June through September, but the period from October to December – also called the retreating monsoon – brings the most rainfall to India’s southeastern coastal areas.

Facebook activated their Safety Check feature on Thursday morning, while people travelling to Chennai to help out in the rescue efforts posted about safe road routes.