Rain battered Tamil Nadu capital Chennai and coastal areas of the state this week (PTI)
As monsoon rain flooded Chennai and parts of Tamil Nadu this week displacing thousands and reportedly killing 12 people, the state minister said the government has " learnt lessons from 2015 floods and was better prepared to deal with the natural calamity".
Refuting the claim that the situation was same as during the 2015 floods that left hundreds of people dead and lakhs homeless, Tamil Nadu Revenue Minister RB Udhayakumar said, "4,399 vulnerable locations were identified and separate teams were sent to each of those areas... attended the problems in the areas immediately and hence there was no flood loss, no loss of life."
Heavy rain battered Chennai and other coastal regions of Tamil Nadu, with the state gauging 93 per cent more showers than normal for the period between October 1 and November 4. More than 10,000 people have taken shelter in over 105 relief camps in Chennai and other parts of coastal Tamil Nadu, a government release said.
Tamil Nadu Revenue Minister RB Udhayakumar said the government has "learnt lessons" from the 2015 floods
S Balachandran, Director, Area Cyclone Warning Centre told PTI that 19cm of rainfall has been recorded in the state against the normal of 21 cm from October 1 to November 4 period. Tamil Nadu has recorded 174 mm of rainfall between October 27 and November 3.
Despite waterlogging in several low-lying parts of Chennai and suburban areas, the minister insisted that the "permanent solution" to flooding is in place in the state.
The residents in Chennai's Chitlapakkam, however, said otherwise. "Few hours of rain on Thursday night, and my house was flooded. I had to move my wife, who had suffered a brain stroke, to the first floor at 1 in the morning. Everything I bought after the flooding in 2015, from beds and cots, to the refrigerator and stabiliser... once again everything under water," rued 72-year-old Ramakrishnan, adding, "How can a pensioner afford to spend 5 lakh rupees every year?"
Although most of the water-logging has been cleared in Chennai, low-lying areas and the suburbs of the capital continue to be water-logged.
Chief Minister K Palaniswami had visited many waterlogged parts of the city and its suburbs on Thursday and said that his government was working on a "war-footing". He was accompanied by his deputy O Panneerslevam and senior officials.
No rain has been reported in Chennai since late on Saturday night but the Met department has forecast rain or thundershowers over coastal Tamil Nadu and Puducherry till Monday.
The Madras High Court yesterday directed the Chennai civic body to file a detailed status report on the steps various steps taken to prevent water-logging.