Narendra Modi announces another Rs 1000-cr for Tamil Nadu, more rains expected in next 24 hours
New Delhi: Rescue and relief operations were infull swing on Thursday in the worst flood-affected areas of Chennai and suburbs and neighbouring districts which enjoyed a welcome respite from torrential rains as Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a Rs 1,000 crore more aid to Tamil Nadu.
Heavy rains continued to lash coastal Cuddalore district, one of the worst affected areas ever since North-East monsoon fury started early last month, and Villupuram and Kanyakumari districts and Puducherry as the death toll in the state mounted to 269. While intermittent rains have been forecast for Chennai, coastal and interior Tamil Nadu will receive more rains in the next 24 hours.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi surveyed the destruction and flooding from an air force helicopter. Modi, who met Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa, announced a relief package of Rs. 1000 crores. He said that the declared amount is over and above the Rs. 940 crores which was released earlier.
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"I have seen the damage and misery caused by extremely heavy rainfall. The government of India stands by the people of Tamil Nadu in their hour of need. I have directed Rs. 1000 crores to be released immediately by the government of India to Tamil Nadu for immediate relief. This is over and above the Rs. 940 crores which was released earlier," the Prime Minister said.
Modi earlier in the day arrived in Chennai to take stock of the situation arising out of incessant rains in coastal parts of Tamil Nadu over the last few weeks. He also conducted an aerial survey of the flood affected areas.
Earlier in the day, Jayalalithaa too went on an aerial survey and then met state officers to discuss relief.
An aerial view of Chennai showed low-lying neighbourhoods as well the city's airport almost completely submerged. The Airport Authority of India said that the airport was likely to be closed until Sunday.
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Dozens of trains to the state have been delayed this week, and on Thursday the main train station was so heavily flooded that it had to shut down operations. Singh said that railways officials convened an emergency meeting to get the station back on track quickly.
Even though hundreds of Army, navy and local police and fire department rescuers were helping evacuate those trapped in their homes, Twitter and other social media were flooded with calls for help from across the city.
Most of those still trapped were either the elderly or people with very young children.
The state government cut power to several parts of Chennai as a safety measure to prevent electrocutions. Most deaths in the last month of rains have been due to drowning, electrocution and wall collapses.
The Centre has described the situation in Chennai as "worrisome" and promised all possible support to the state government in the hour of crisis. Modi had earlier spoken to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa to promise all possible support. Home Minister Rajnath Singh told Lok Sabha that 40 per cent of telephone and mobile connections were not working in the state.
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For the first time in over 40 years, the water has risen rapidly on the river breaching the road and the Maraimalai Adigal bridge in Saidapet cutting the arterial Anna Salai (Mount Road), rendering it out of bounds for motorists.
"I can't even believe that this much water was possible in Chennai," one woman told a television channel as she stood in waist-deep water in the state capital.
"We don't have any food. We don't have any milk," she said, adding that she had stepped out to see if she could find a shop selling some food. "But I'm scared to walk down this road. The water comes up almost to my hips."
Chennai has received more than 330 millimeters (13 inches) of rain over the last 24 hours, which is significantly higher than the regional average for the entire month of December, Singh said.
While the downpour eased early Thursday, the Indian Meteorological Department has predicted more heavy rain in several parts of the state through the rest of the week. The rains have been caused by a depression in the Bay of Bengal, the agency said.
Read:
Jayalalithaa conducts aerial survey of flood-hit areas in Chennai
Chennai floods: Rail stations turn inns, rescue camps hardly have space to breathe
Tamil Nadu floods: Essential commodities in short supply in rain-hit Chennai
Chennai flood situation ‘very alarming’, says Rajnath Singh
Nitish Kumar sends Rs 5 crore for Tamil Nadu flood victims
The Centre said it was making "all possible efforts" to provide succour and relief to the people of rain battered Chennai and other areas in Tamil Nadu.
Union Minister Venkaiah Naidu said the central government was in touch with the state government and the Union Home Secretary was continuously monitoring the situation in affected areas.
"I have spoken to the Prime Minister and the Home Minister. Centre is providing all assistance and will continue to help. Naval and Army forces have been mobilised and we have arranged helicopters but we can fly them in only after the situation improves. We are trying to reach wherever possible," he told reporters outside Parliament.
The Union Urban Development Minister said the Chennai airport was shut and public transport heavily affected.
"People have left their homes, power supply has been halted as a precautionary measure and schools closed... it is not a good situation. The government is making all possible effort to provide help to the poor and the middle class... I appreciate that the residents of Chennai are helping each other," he said.
Rains abated in Chennai on Thursday giving relief to people tormented by the heavy downpour of the last three days but excessive discharge of water last night from Chembarambakkam lake on the outskirts flooded new areas of the city threatening to uproot people from their homes.
The fresh flooding of the streets in the heart of the city in areas like Kodambakkam and T. Nagar and Ashok Nagar has been caused by the release of an estimated 30,000 cusecs of water from the Chembarambakkam lake, one of city's source of drinking water.
For the first time in over 40 years, water has risen rapidly on the Adyar river breaching the road and the Maraimalai Adigal bridge in Saidapet. Water has cut off the arterial Anna Salai Road, rendering it out of bounds for motorists.
India's main monsoon season runs from June through September, but the period between October to December -- also called the retreating monsoon -- brings the most rainfall to southeastern coastal areas.
The extreme weather in Chennai comes as heads of state are meeting in Paris to try and work out a new treaty to limit global warming and deal with its effects. However, experts say the floods in the city are most directly linked to the El Nino weather pattern, when the waters of the Pacific Ocean get warmer than usual.
"This year saw the strongest El Nino ever recorded," said G.P. Sharma, vice president of meteorology at Skymet, a private weather forecaster. He said that was indicative of an extremely heavy retreating monsoon.
El Nino is one of the factors India's government-run Met office takes into account while forecasting the monsoon. This year, India had a weaker than usual summer monsoon, as it does in an El Nino year.
