Hundreds of officials from the Indian Army, Navy, Air Force and the National Disaster Response Force continued to conduct rescue and relief operations in flood-affected areas of Tamil Nadu on Thursday. Chennai, its suburbs and neighbouring districts enjoyed a welcome respite from torrential rains, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced an additional Rs 1,000 crore relief package for the state.

However, heavy rainfall continued to lash the coastal Cuddalore district, one of the worst affected areas of the North-East monsoon, and the districts of Villupuram and Kanyakumari. Neighbouring Puducherry also received heavy rainfall. Intermittent rain has been forecast for Chennai in the next 24 hours, while the coastal and interior districts of Tamil Nadu will also receive more rainfall.

Chennai remained virtually cut off from the rest of the country as air, rail and road transport services continued to be suspended. The Southern Railway announced a cancellation of all inter-state and intra-state train services till Saturday, while the Chennai Airport will remain shut till Sunday. Prices of milk, vegetables, and essential commodities also shot up because of a shortage in supply.

The prime minister undertook an aerial survey of the flood-hit areas before meeting with Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa. He said that the Rs 1,000 crore relief package will be over and above the Rs 940 crore given by the Centre to Tamil Nadu during the earlier spell of rain in November. Home minister Rajnath Singh said that the toll in rain-related incidents in the state has risen to 269.