The woman requested the government to send in bigger boats to evacuate the stranded people
It's been over 30 hours since rains brought by cyclonic storm "Michaung" triggered heavy rain in coastal Tamil Nadu. But residents in several low-lying pockets of Chennai are still struggling to move to safety.
In south Chennai's Velachery area, submerged in knee-deep water, locals have been waiting since yesterday for boats to come in and evacuate them from their inundated homes.
One of the evacuees is a pregnant woman who managed to get out along with her family. There is not enough support for the locals to move out of the area, she said.
Speaking to NDTV, she said, "There is nobody to help us there. If someone can help, they can go in to help the elderly. The boats are very, very small and they are not safe. I would like to request the government to send in bigger boats so that the people can come out."
"It is about getting them food and electricity. There is not enough support at the moment," she added.
Residents are having to wait hours for their turn to be ferried out by boats. "We had to wait for two to three hours today until we got a boat. There were no boats for us yesterday," another local said.
Authorities said they have deployed around 300 boats and have also got reinforcements from the National Disaster Response Force, or the NDRF. The boats are now reaching out to communities in low-lying areas, they added.
Earlier today, Chief Minister MK Stalin visited some of the affected areas and distributed food and essentials to people at a relief centre in the city. He also inspected efforts to drain water.
The Chief Minister has written to the Centre seeking an interim flood relief aid of Rs 5,060 crore, reported news agency PTI.
On X, several people shared videos of residential areas submerged in stagnant water and claimed residents are still stranded.
Many complained of delays in the supply of milk in affected areas, including in Velachery and Tambaram, where residents claimed milk was being sold at inflated prices.
The entry to the bridge across the Adyar suffered damages due to a leak in a water pipeline. Currently, only one side of the bridge is open to traffic. Heavy vehicles have been rerouted.
The floods in Chennai revived horrific memories of the 2015 deluge that killed more than 200 people.