04 December,2015 10:54 AM IST | | Agencies
Home Minister Rajnath Singh describes situation as alarming; informs Lok Sabha that another 54 people succumbed to the downpour in Andhra Pradesh as well
New Delhi: The heaviest rains in Tamil Nadu in over a century, and floods, have left 269 people dead, Home Minister Rajnath Singh said yesterday, describing the situation as âalarming'.
Army personnel rescue a youth in flood-hit Chennai after heavy rainfall yesterday. Singh said 30 teams of the NDRF and seven columns of the Army were engaged in relief and rescue work. Pic/PTI
He also told the Lok Sabha that 54 people were killed in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh and two in Puducherry.
"There are no two opinions that the situation in Tamil Nadu is alarming. It is not an exaggeration to say that Chennai has turned into an island," Singh said, adding that all the highways leading to the city were closed.
Chennai, he said, had received torrential rains, and the meteorological department had forecast more rains in the next two-three days.
Singh said 30 teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and seven columns of the Army were engaged in relief and rescue work. Even the Navy has deployed boats and divers for search and rescue operations.
