One little statistic demonstrates just how bad the last two days have been in Chennai and the rest of the eastern coast. The rains that hit Tamil Nadu's capital city in November, which left 150 dead and hundreds of crores in damages, were the worst seen by Chennai in a decade. On Tuesday and Wednesday, however, the city has seen the worst floods in a 100 years.
The average rainfall for all of December in Chennai is 191 mm, according to Skymet. As of just the morning of December 2, the city had already received almost double that, at 345 mm of rain. This has meant all flights cancelled because of a waterlogged airport, electricity out in large parts of the city, plenty of people stranded on rooftops, reservoirs full to bursting, property damage on a massive scale and no printed edition of the Hindu in Chennai in more than a century. Along other parts of the coast, the story is much the same.
And it won't get better anytime soon.
The Indian Meteorological Department has forecast another 72 hours of rain at some intensity, before letting off, although it's expected to continue pouring through the end of the week. "The rains in the coastal parts of South India especially, southern parts of coastal Andhra Pradesh, coastal parts of Tami Nadu and Puducherry and in some interior parts of Tamil Nadu, are expected to continue. The intensity of rains might lessen after 72 hours but the it will continue to rain for about a week more," IMD Director General LS Rathore said on Wednesday.
Rathore pointed out that most reservoirs in the region are already full, forcing many dams to let out water, which is why water is starting to pile up in the low-lying areas. Continued rains will also hamper any rescue efforts that are ongoing. Moreover, those who were hoping for relief over the past few days – most of whom have run out of battery on their cell phones and are unlikely to have much in the way of food supplies – might have to wait even longer.
Relief operations have been on in earnest, with volunteers taking to twitter and ChennaiRains.org to organise their efforts. Meanwhile, the government has also mobilised the Army and the Navy and the National Disaster Response Force to help with rescue operations, but the prospect of even more rain could leave the city in an even more precarious state.
We welcome your comments at
letters@scroll.in.
The average rainfall for all of December in Chennai is 191 mm, according to Skymet. As of just the morning of December 2, the city had already received almost double that, at 345 mm of rain. This has meant all flights cancelled because of a waterlogged airport, electricity out in large parts of the city, plenty of people stranded on rooftops, reservoirs full to bursting, property damage on a massive scale and no printed edition of the Hindu in Chennai in more than a century. Along other parts of the coast, the story is much the same.
And it won't get better anytime soon.
The Indian Meteorological Department has forecast another 72 hours of rain at some intensity, before letting off, although it's expected to continue pouring through the end of the week. "The rains in the coastal parts of South India especially, southern parts of coastal Andhra Pradesh, coastal parts of Tami Nadu and Puducherry and in some interior parts of Tamil Nadu, are expected to continue. The intensity of rains might lessen after 72 hours but the it will continue to rain for about a week more," IMD Director General LS Rathore said on Wednesday.
Rathore pointed out that most reservoirs in the region are already full, forcing many dams to let out water, which is why water is starting to pile up in the low-lying areas. Continued rains will also hamper any rescue efforts that are ongoing. Moreover, those who were hoping for relief over the past few days – most of whom have run out of battery on their cell phones and are unlikely to have much in the way of food supplies – might have to wait even longer.
Relief operations have been on in earnest, with volunteers taking to twitter and ChennaiRains.org to organise their efforts. Meanwhile, the government has also mobilised the Army and the Navy and the National Disaster Response Force to help with rescue operations, but the prospect of even more rain could leave the city in an even more precarious state.
