Many parts of the city and the suburbs have been flooded from the incessant rains that have hit Chennai in the past 24 hours, amidst the worst ever flood situation in Tamil Nadu
Chennai: Many parts of the city and the suburbs have been flooded from the incessant rains that have hit Chennai in the past 24 hours, amidst the worst ever flood situation in Tamil Nadu.
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The water has entered inside houses in the low-lying areas of Anna Nagar and there is water-logging in almost every part of the city.
The flight operations at the Chennai Airport have been closed for the whole day because of the flooded water on the runway.
“All operations at Chennai Airport have been stopped for rest of the day and all flights stand cancelled. Operations at the airport have been shut as water has started entering the airfield,” Deepak Shastri, Chennai Airport Director told ANI.
Twelve trains leaving Chennai Egmore were already cancelled yesterday due to water overflowing on railway tracks between Villupuram - Tambaram section.
Meanwhile, Additional DG (PR) Railways, Anil Kumar Saxena said that two sections-Chennai Egmore Villupuram section and Chennai Central Gudur section have been badly affected.
A man shelters under an umbrella as he walks through floodwaters in Chennai on December 1, 2015, during a downpour of heavy rain. Pic/AFP
“Because of these two sections getting affected, train operations are badly affected in the region. More train cancellations are likely on Wednesday,” Saxena told ANI.
He also appealed to the passengers to check their train status before coming to the station and assured that they are trying their best to provide up-to date information to the public.
“Senior officers of Chennai division are monitoring the situation,” he added.
The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) had yesterday said that five more teams comprising 300 men would be rushed to conduct relief and rescue operations in rain-hit Tamil Nadu. However the teams from Odisha and Bihar are not able to land in Chennai due to waterlogging at the airport.
“We hoped to get airport clearance by 6.30 am but now it’s postponed to 11.30 am,” NDRF DG OP Singh told ANI.
Meanwhile, Army Flood Relief Columns are carrying out extensive flood rescue and relief operations in Tambaram and Urapakkam areas in Chennai.
A Naval rescue team has been deployed in Gandhi Nagar area beyond Adyar Bridge along Buckingham Canal as the whole area is flooded.
The Chennai Corporation had also announced emergency contact numbers for all the regional zones in the city for the people to contact in case of any emergency due to the floods.
The Army has been re-called and so have additional forces to carry out rescue operations in the flood-hit areas.
NTL India, a conventional call taxi provider, has introduced 15 boats with trained rescue emergency team in several parts of the city.