Chennai: Fresh rains pose threat to rescue and relief operations in flood-hit Chennai while the Met Department has warned that the state will witness less rain for next 2-3 days.
The rain respite was momentary in flood-hit Chennai. After a lull of 12 hours, Chennai has been hit by rains again.Fresh spell of rain has disrupted normal life in Puducherry and Kanchipuram.
Withdrawing its earlier statement,the Met Department on Friday said the flood-hit state will witness less rain for next 2-3 days.
Meanwhile, 5,000 cusecs of water has been released from Chembarambakkam Lake, India Today reported.
The water flow in the Adyar river has come down and the amount of surplus water was released into the river from the Chembarambakkam lake.
The Southern Railways have announced special trains to Tirunelveli, Rameswaram and Howrah from Chennai Beach station. The power supply was restored in the areas where water has receded, but it was still cut in many other places.
Mobile phone services, which had taken a severe beating following the heavy downpour on Tuesday, were partially restored even as other services such as ATMs continued to remain shut.
At least 18 people died in one of the hospitals in the flood-hit Chennai on Friday, reports said. MIOT Hospital in the city was treating some 575 patients. After the tragic incident, 57 patients have been shifted to different hospitals. Tamil Nadu Health Secretary J Radhakrishnan said the reason behind death is not known yet and an investigation has been ordered into the incident.
Though water level is slowly receding in many parts of Chennai and there is no rainfall in the city and adjoining areas since morning, the flood situation continues to remain grim in the city and several parts of Tamil Nadu. The city still remains virtually cut off from the rest of the country with air, rail and road transport services.
Army chief General Dalbir Singh has reached Chennai to personally oversee relief and rescue operations.
At least 18 people died in one of the hospitals in the flood-hit Chennai on Friday, reports said. MIOT Hospital in the city was treating some 575 patients. After the tragic incident, 57 patients have been shifted to different hospitals. Tamil Nadu Health Secretary J Radhakrishnan said the reason behind death is not known yet and an investigation has been ordered into the incident.
Though water level is slowly receding in many parts of Chennai and there is no rainfall in the city and adjoining areas since morning, the flood situation continues to remain grim in the city and several parts of Tamil Nadu. The city still remains virtually cut off from the rest of the country with air, rail and road transport services.
Army chief General Dalbir Singh has reached Chennai to personally oversee relief and rescue operations.
Floods: A Human error
A green body on Friday said that the floods in Chennai are an impact of climate change and the “unprecedented deluge” that the city has witnessed is a reminder of increasing frequency of such freak weather events across the Indian subcontinent. The Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) said that Chennai could have fared better if it had protected and preserved its natural water bodies and drainage channels.
“We have repeatedly drawn attention to the fact that our urban sprawls such as Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Chennai, Srinagar and others have not paid adequate attention to the natural water bodies that exist in them,” said CSE director general Sunita Narain.
US offers assistance for Chennai flood victims
The US has expressed its deepest condolences to the families of the people affected by the worst floods in Chennai and has offered assistance to address the humanitarian challenge “especially in the case of strong partners like India”.
“The US stands ready to assist the people of Chennai, Tamil Nadu, as well as the Government of India as they face the worst flooding in decades,” State Department Deputy Spokesman Mark Toner told reporters at his daily news conference on Thursday.