A WhatsApp message, which was later confirmed to be a hoax, stating that the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) had predicted heavy rainfall and a cyclone in Chennai on November 21 and 22 spread panic on Tuesday.
The message that was being frantically forwarded by residents soon found its way to social media websites Facebook and Twitter and was shared numerous times. The hoax said that the city would receive 250 cm of rainfall.
Regional Meteorological Centre Director S. R. Ramanan, while giving the weather forecast on Tuesday, urged the public to not believe in such rumours.
The topic ‘Chennai Rains’ has been in the focus on social media for the past few days with the topic continuing to trend on Facebook on Wednesday. While many users uploaded photos of waterlogged areas and stepped in to offer help to those tweeting from affected areas, memes and other satirical posts on how the city resembled 'Venice' with submerged buildings and boats plying for hapless citizens were also extremely popular on the sites
