Heavy rains continue in Tamil Nadu; schools and colleges closed today
_0_0.jpg "Heavy rains continue in Tamil Nadu; schools and colleges closed today")
Chennai: Due to heavy rain, the Collectors of Chennai, Kancheepuram and Tiruvallur districts have declared a day’s leave for schools and colleges on November 16. The University of Madras has postponed all theory examinations scheduled for November 16. Anna University has also rescheduled its exams slated to take place on November 16 and 18 for university departments and all its affiliated colleges to a later date, which would be announced later.
Tamil Nadu Dr Ambedkar Law University has announced that exams for its affiliated law colleges to take place on November 16 stand postponed because of rains and the date of exam will be informed later.
The SRM University has declared holiday for all its campuses in Chennai on November 16, similarly VIT University has also announced a day's leave for its students in the Vellore campus on November 16.
Annamalai University has declared holiday up to November 18. All classes are cancelled up to November 18 and exams too up to November 23. However, the university hospital and other essential services will continue to work, university registrar Dr K. Arumugam said.
Hospital flooded, patients evacuated
Incessant rains are now impacting hospitals. A maternity hospital in AGS colony at Velachery was in dire straits after the ground floor of its building was completely flooded on Sunday.
The worst affected were newborn babies and toddlers but fire service personnel were able to rescue all the patients on time.
Around 12 noon the fire station got a call from KS Hospital complaining of flooding. After reaching the spot, the firefighters immediately started shifting all patients and other hospital administration members to safer locations.
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It’s wet, wet, wet as Chennai and suburbs take a pounding
The rescue operations went on till nearly 7 in the evening. The patients were shifted in ambulances and taken to safer places. More than 40 people were rescued from the hospital. Since it is a very low lying area, the hospital wasn't able to prevent flooding. However, no serious injuries have been caused and rescue operations are continuing effectively, said Karthikeyan of the South Zone fire station.
As firefighters have been receiving emergency calls round the clock, they are facing delays due to shortfall of people. Fire station officials are now asking citizens to take care of themselves and be prepared to face any danger, since rains are expected to continue over the next couple of days.
Safety: Do’s and don’ts for students
In a circular to all school education department officials, Dr S. Kannappan, director of school education, has asked schools not to allow students near compound walls and fence the area as they might collapse due to heavy rains.
In a bid to ensure safety of school children, the directorate has asked schools to remove trees if they were found in precarious condition and teachers should ensure that all switches and electrical devices are safe to use. Students should not be allowed to operate switches and electrical devices.
The director has advised parents not to let their children go outside the home, especially near water bodies during rainy days (holidays) and headmasters have been urged to sensitise students about the dangers of playing near water bodies during rain. “Teachers should sensitise students that they should not stand under trees when it rains as they might get struck by lighting and thunder. If any classroom is damaged, schools should lock the room and keep it out of bounds for students. If the school has undertaken any repair work or renovation work students should be asked not to go near that,” Dr Kannappan said in the circular released on November 15.
Schools should create awareness among students about the necessity to keep them safe from any kind of diseases, especially dengue and chikungunya. If any student is found to have any symptoms of the diseases they should be asked to consult a doctor immediately, the circular added.
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