October to December is the wet season across the region, as the northeasterly monsoon is a far more potent force here than its summer, southwesterly, counterpart.
Heavy rain is known to have resulted in the deaths of at least 188 people in Tamil Nadu since the start of November. An astonishing 741mm of rain fell during that month - more than twice the monthly average.
The latest bout is the result of an area of low pressure in the Bay of Bengal. It dropped a remarkable 374mm of rain on Chennai on Tuesday. This compares with an average for the entire month of December of 140mm.
The flooding has forced more than 200,000 people to abandon their homes.
Chennai is home to several major car manufacturers, and many of the factories have been forced to close as workers have been unable to get to work.
Road, rail and air transport have all been affected; the international airport has experienced more than a score of flight cancellations, including those between Chennai and Mumbai.
The rain is expected to continue in the coming days. The Indian Meteorological Department has warned of another 1,000mm of rain in the next 48 hours.
Source: Al Jazeera
2/12/15
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Fresh rains in the city of Chennai caused severe flooding, with trains and flights suspended and hundreds of people left without power. ...
ReplyDeleteThe army has been mobilized to rescue thousands of stranded residents after two days of heavy downpours.
Authorities said at least 188 people have died in the floods that have been wreaking havoc in the state of Tamil Nadu since last month. A depression in the Bay of Bengal has brought rains in the coastal areas.
Two days of incessant rains have led to widespread flooding. Consequently, flights from Chennai's airport have been indefinitely suspended as flood waters reached the tarmac and the runway on Tuesday night. Media reports said about 400 passengers are stranded at the airport. In addition, the operation of over a dozen trains have been cancelled after flood waters submerged the tracks.
Personnel from the National Disaster Response Force and the army have been dispatched to the city's worst-hit southern suburbs to rescue residents stranded in their flooded homes. Reports said power supply has been cut to almost 60 percent of the city's neighborhoods.
The rains have filled all reservoirs around Chennai and rivers are already swollen. Thousands of people living on the banks of these rivers have been evacuated to temporary shelters. Meanwhile, the meteorological office said scattered to heavy downpours are expected to continue over the next three days.
http://www.ubalert.com/RYdc
Indian army battles deadly flooding in Chennai...
ReplyDeleteFloods that have taken hundreds of lives in Chennai, India receded briefly on Thursday, giving rescue teams a chance to evacuate thousands of residents stranded after the heaviest rains the southern city has seen in over a century.
Floods and incessant rainfall cut off more than three million people from basic services and hampered rescue efforts by the army, which has so far evacuated 18,000 people from rooftops and outlying villages.
City authorities were deploying bulldozers and bags of concrete to repair collapsed roads, while several bridges were under water as urban lakes in the low-lying coastal city of six million overflowed.
Train services and flights to Chennai, capital of the southern state of Tamil Nadu, remain cancelled and the navy has pressed fishing boats into service to evacuate people from the worst-hit suburbs to temples, schools and wedding halls.
A senior federal official said more than 700 people had been critically injured and were rushed to government hospitals by paramilitary forces.
“We want to do everything but the problem is beyond our control. The airport is flooded, train networks have collapsed and the weather is still not conducive,” home ministry spokesman K.S. Dhatwalia said in New Delhi.........Reuters........http://www.france24.com/en/20151203-chennai-indian-army-battles-deadly-flooding-rescue-survivors
3/12/15