As heavy rains continue to lash Chennai on Wednesday, several parts of the city have come to a standstill. Electricity has been turned off in some areas as a precautionary measure. A holiday has been declared for all schools and colleges. Telephone services taken a hit as several areas were cut-off due to water-logging.
The weather office in Chennai has predicted >more rains in Tamil Nadu over the next 24 hours due to presence of a low pressure in Bay of Bengal. “Due to low pressure rainfall will continue in next 24 hours in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry with some places receiving heavy to very heavy rainfall,” said Regional Meteorological Department Director, S.R. Ramanan.
“Cuddalore, Coimbatore, Nilgiris districts may witness very heavy rainfall. For Chennai and its surroundings it may be cloudy with intermittent rainfall over the next 24 hours,” he said. > More
Latest Updates:
SriLankan Airlines cancels four Chennai-bound flights — UL121, UL127, UL123 and UL125 — ColomboPage newspaper reported. The airlines said it will resume flights as soon as Chennai airport resumes operations. It may operate a few extra flights to facilitate the stranded passengers in Chennai, the carrier said. |
Tamil Nadu government issues advisory to private undertakings to declare holiday for their employees on December 3 and 4. In its advisory, the Labour Department said that “in view of the adverse weather condition, the government issues an advisory to private undertakings to permit their staff to avail holiday permission or work from home as is done in many IT and private companies on December 3 and 4, 2015.” The advisory for holiday was being issued to districts of Chennai, Kancheepuram and Tiruvallur, it said. - PTI |
The financial loss due to the floods may exceed Rs.15,000 crore, the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham) said. The State government had earlier put the total loss at Rs.8,481 crore after the first spell of rains. - IANS |
Chennai airport to remain shut till December 6: AAI - PTI |
Rains will continue to batter Tamil Nadu for the next seven days and the next 48 hours are “very crucial”, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has said. IMD Director General Laxman Singh Rathore attributed the heavy rains to a “trough of low” over Southwest Bay of Bengal off Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka coast which will continue to bring rains over the next three days. Thereafter, the state will see an anti-cyclone activity which will be associated with “heavy rains” at some places. “The phenomenon will continue for the next seven days, but the next 48 hours are very crucial. Neighbouring states will also see rainfall activity,” Rathore said. -- PTI |
NDRF,which already has 10 teams in TN, has been asked to double its strength by evening, reports Vijaita Singh. PTI adds: The NDRF is rushing about 600 personnel and over 40 inflatable boats to be deployed in relief and rescue operations. As the Chennai airport and nearby landing facilities are shut down, 15 teams airlifted from Bhubaneswar and Delhi by the IAF, will be landing at the ‘INS Rajali’ airbase in Arakkonam, about 60 km west of Chennai, said National Disaster Response Force chief O.P. Singh |
Four trains between TN, Kerala cancelled: Southern Railways today cancelled at least four trains between the Tamil Nadu state capital and Kerala. The Chennai Egmore-Thiruvananthapuram Ananthapuri Express and Chennai Egmore-Guruvayoor Express and their pairing trains have been cancelled, the railways said in a release here. |
Hyundai, Ford, Renault suspend ops in Chennai due to floods: Auto majors Hyundai, Ford and Renault have temporarily suspended operations at their plants in Chennai due to floods. - PTI |
Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik spoke to TN CM Jayalalithaa, conveying his concern over torrential & recurring rains in TN |
As many as 3,500 people, including 1,500 passengers, were stranded on Wednesday morning at the Chennai international airport, which has been closed for operations till Thursday morning following flooding of the runway. > Read more: |
Chennai airport Due to Chennai floods, there will be no charges on BSNL bills for one week in Chennai starting today: Ravi Shankar Prasad, Telecom Minister to ANI . |
Meeting on Chennai floods begins in Parliament, Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Manohar Parrikar, Nirmala Sitharaman in attendance. |
Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) says they have already released Rs. 509 crore from state disaster relief fund to TN govt. |
Chennai suburban areas like Tambaram and Chembarambakkam received the highest rainfall of 49 cms and 47 cms respectively, said Regional MeT Depatment head S.R. Ramanan |
Naval warship INS Airavat wth 6 integral boats, 20 divers and relief material off to Chennai from Vishakapattinam. It is expected to reach tomorrow. |
Chennai receives 29 cms of rain for 24-hr period ending 8.30 a.m on Wednesday. Only 0.5 mm so far, says Met department's official. |
Trinamool Congress' Sudeip Bandhyopadhyaya asks for more funds for TN floods in Lok Sabha. |
AIADMK MP in the Lok Sabha has asked TN floods to be treated as a national calamity. |
News of heavy rains in Chennai &other parts of TN extremely worrying.My thoughts are with the people of TN as they battle incessant rains
— Office of RG (@OfficeOfRG) >December 2, 20151/n Briefed Shri. >@narendramodi on the never-before-seen-or-experienced torrential rain since 9 Nov 2015 >#ChennaiFloods>@PMOIndia assured...
— Nirmala Sitharaman (@nsitharaman) >December 2, 2015
The Government has decided to send two C-17 aircrafts, one from Delhi and the other from Bhubhaneshwar. In all 12 teams of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) will be sent to Tamil Nadu by these aircrafts. |
The National Crisis Management Committee (NCMC) headed by Cabinet Secretary P.K. Mishra held a meeting on Wednesday to take stock of the flood situation in Tamil Nadu and adjoining areas of Andhra Pradesh. The meeting was being attended by senior Home Ministry officials as well. |
Dramatic scenes unfolded on the arterial Kotturpuram bridge near Adyar as the Adyar river has started overflowing. Tamil Nadu Housing Board Colony, with over 3,000 residents, is completely inundated. A rescue team is in action, strongly battling the currents of the river. The Kotturpuram bridge has beeen shut as water has entered on the bridge. Earlier, water from Chembarambakkam reservoir was discharged at the rate of 20,000 cubic feet per second into the Adyar river. |
Tamil Nadu Housing Board colony in Kotturpuram, Chennai on Wednesday. The Chennai Collector issued a flood warning, asking people living along the river to move to safer places. |
As water levels at Chennai airport in Meenambakkam, a low-lying area, started increasing, leading to flooding on the runway. Operations at the Chennai airport have been closed for now. According to ANI, the Chennai airport will be closed till 6 a.m. on Thursday. |
Saidapet bridge has also been closed as it was it is completely flooded. Roads were flooded and essential services, including trains and buses, were suspended in most locations. |
According the MeT director, more rains are expected in the next 24 hours. |
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.
Expert Naval divers and inflatable boats were deployed at Adyar and Kotturpuram areas to help marooned citizens.
Alok Bhatnagar, Naval officer in charge, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, said ships, INS Airawat and other amphibian vessels, would arrive in Chennai tonight. The Navy was also ready with medical supplies, he said.
Seven boats had already been deployed for rescue work, while shelters were ready to accommodate 200 people.
Helpline numbers:
Tree fall, Waterlogging | 1913 |
Sewage overflow | 45674567, 22200335 |
State Emergency | 1070 |
District Emergency | 1077 |
Electricity | 1912 |
Fire & Rescue | 101 |
Boats had to be called out once again to rescue residents caught in their workplaces and homes, after floodwaters entered the buildings. Water release from the reservoirs and the breaching of over 60 tanks in south Chennai contributed to the extensive damage in the city.
Satellite image recorded by INSAT 3D at 1800 hours on Wednesday. Chief Minister Jayalalithaa said senior IAS officers were sent to the affected districts to supervise relief works. Eight teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), Arakkonam, have been sent out for rescue operations.
Modi speaks to CM
Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted late night that he had spoken to Ms. Jayalalithaa and assured her of all assistance during this “unfortunate hour.”
Heavier rain has been predicted for the areas over the next four days. The Tamil Nadu government also requisitioned the Army’s help for rescue and relief.
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