91 flood shelters opened in Chennai for residents of low lying areas

A total of 56 streets in 23 residential areas were inundated on Friday as the city received over 46 mm of rainfall in 24 hours.

As many as 620 residents were provided accommodation and food in flood shelters at five localities of the city. A total of 91 flood shelters have been opened for residents in low lying areas near major waterways such as Kosasthalaiyar, Adyar, Cooum and Buckingham canal.

The release of water from Poondi has been the highest among the reservoirs, with the discharge touching 4248 cusecs on Friday. Areas such as Manali were inundated on Friday.

At least 48 of the 847 pumps have been used to bail out water from inundated areas on Friday. A total of 21 subways remained open without any water stagnation. Work on removing water from one subway is under way.

A total of 749 residents received breakfast at Chennai Corporation centres on Friday.

Chennai Corporation health officials have organised 559 mobile medical camps and 265 permanent camps at residential areas. At least 4.3 lakh residents have visited the camps during this month.

As part of innovative flood control measures, Chennai Corporation has developed an underground network of huge pipes this week in flooded roads in areas such as T. Nagar, as part of innovative projects to control flooding in various localities.

Teams of engineers have been sent to each flooded locality to study the local civic issues, conduct brainstorming sessions and implement the innovative projects. Work on development of huge underground pipelines was completed in 24 hours, on Wednesday.

“Our innovations have worked so far with over 50 mm rain too,” said an official. The underground pipes have been structured in stretches such as Bazulla Road and Vijayaraghava Road to carry excess flood waters, in addition to the existing drains.