Chennai is facing its worst crisis after experiencing record rain in the last 100 years
Flight operations are expected to resume at the Chennai airport today, even as intermittent rain continues to lash Tamil Nadu after a short dry spell. The flooded city is facing its worst crisis after experiencing record rain in the last 100 years.
Here are the latest developments:
About 80 per cent of power facilities have been restored, and buses have started operating, in the first signs of normalcy after a war-like relief effort by the Army, national and state disaster response forces that still continues.
Operations at the Chennai airport that was shut after a flooded runway forced the cancellation of all flights on Tuesday, will resume today. Train services will remain suspended till today, say officials. Seven flights were operated on Friday by Air India and some private airlines from the Rajali Naval air station in Arakkonam near Chennai.
Heavy showers lashed the city once again on Friday. The Met department has predicted "light to moderate" rainfall till Sunday.
Earlier, the flood situation in the city had eased after water levels in the Adyar and Cooum rivers reduced following a sharp fall in water being released from Chembarapakkam, Pondi and Puzhal lakes.
More than 10,000 people have been rescued so far by the the Army and the National Disaster Response Force. But many are still marooned.
On Friday, 45 bodies were brought to a government hospital; 14 were patients from a private hospital who died allegedly after ventilators stopped working.
"The reason of deaths is unclear... investigation is underway," J Radhakrishnan, Tamil Nadu's Health Secretary, told news agency ANI.The other deaths were reportedly caused due to electrocution and other rain-related incidents.
Terming the situation in Chennai as "very alarming", Home Minister Rajnath Singh had, on Thursday, said that there had been 269 deaths in Tamil Nadu since the heavy rain and flooding began last month.
Prices of milk, vegetables and food items have skyrocketed because of short supply. A one-litre packet of milk is being sold for Rs 100 in some places. A bottle of mineral water costing Rs 20 is being sold for Rs 150. Vegetables like tomato and beans are being sold for Rs 80 to Rs 90 a kg.
Schools, colleges and offices in Chennai have been forced to close and exams have been postponed. Telecom companies have offered free talk-time to their customers. Mobile phone services have been partially restored.
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