Chaos as heavy rains flood Indian state

Meanwhile, flights from Chennai airport were cancelled on Wednesday as water flooded its runways.

Amidst all the hue and cry over the effects of climate change, Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar on Wednesday refused to link the rain-ravaged situation in Tamil Nadu directly to climate change, saying it was natural calamity. “We are trying not to panic”, said Goda, who took refuge at a police station after fleeing his home with his family overnight.

“News of heavy rains in Chennai and different elements of TN extraordinarily worrying”.

“My father is 85 and a cardiac patient, we are waiting to be rescued for six hours now, please pray that it stops raining”, she said from Chennai’s Munambakkam neighbourhood, which has seen 294mm of rain since Tuesday.

The heaviest rainfall in over a century caused massive flooding across Tamil Nadu, driving thousands from their homes, shutting auto factories and paralysing the airport in capital Chennai. Chennai has been battling rains since early November due to slow-moving low pressure over southwest Bay of Bengal.

The meteorological office says “scattered to heavy” rains are expected to continue for the next three days.

Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa issued a statement that examinations of all state board schools, which were originally scheduled from December 7 onwards will now be held in the first week of January next year.

Many parts of the city and the suburbs have been flooded from the incessant rains that have hit Chennai in the past 24 hours.

All flights from Chennai airport, including connections to worldwide destinations, were suspended until Thursday when the situation would be reviewed, an official at the airport control room said.

While the army and air force were involved in rescue work and distribution of food packets at suburban Tambaram and Oorapakkam, ships of the navy and coast guard were on standby, officials said. The Southern Railway canceled all major train services to India’s southern districts Wednesday, the Indian Express newspaper reported.

“We hoped to get airport clearance by 6.30 am but now it’s postponed to 11.30 am”, NDRF DG OP Singh told ANI.

The National Disaster Response Force rescue flood-affected people during their relief operations in rain-hit areas on the outskirts of Chennai, Nov. 17, 2015.